Featured in our article: Best integrated amplifiers for 2023. . (The NAD actually offered better note definition, if not quite the same degree of deep bass extension and authority.) (Vol.42 Nos.2 & 4; WWW), Bel Canto Design Black ACI 600: $25,000 Only one analog input (RCA) is provided, and it can be programmed to serve as an MM/MC phono stagealthough all incoming signals are processed in the digital domain. His conclusion: "It is well-engineered and offers excellent measured performance within its limited power envelope." With ARC engaged, TJN heard differences that "ranged from subtle to striking . Mac's tend to look vintage, but use cutting edge semi conductors from today's technology. In measuring the SLI-100, JA found "a slight degree of overshoot" in the amp's squarewave reproduction and, far worse, strikingly less output power/higher distortion than specified: "I was disappointed in the Cary Audio SLI-100's measured performance." Amazingly, its clear, three-dimensional sound is comparable to many amplifiers made today. However, RS concluded that the Shinai "did some things better than my tube geardefinition, detail, space, scale, touch." Its an admirably large-scale sound; one packed with authority yet with enough finesse to avoid sounding musclebound. Best for playing high-res music files Primare I35 Prisma. . McIntosh's namesake black faceplates claim an equally famous pedigree. It's a wonderful integrated amp, has the phone stage of the C32 (half of it at lest), and is light years ahead of the 6100 I think in terms of sound quality. But, let us make things clear: everything works and nothing feels as though it will fall off, even with a decade's worth of use. Both the moving magnet and moving coil circuits are relatively quiet and retain the pleasing character of the MA8950s other inputs. (Vol.42 No.2 WWW), Decware Zen Triode Amplifier: $999 $$$ The fully loaded, hybrid MA12000 Integrated Amplifier is McIntosh's most powerful integrated amplifier ever offering 350W per channel. It has a large scale, effortless sound that is inviting and ever so easy on the ears. It sounds tonally spot on, well balanced, clear, and musical." The verdict from chief tester JA: "[The Quad is] well-sorted, as they say in the UK." Analogue inputs 6x single ended RCA, 1x balanced XLR, Digital inputs USB Type B, coax x2, optical x2, HDMI (ARC), MCT. The Nova offers Bluetooth aptX HD and WiFi connectivity, and provides vTuner Internet radio as well as support for most music-file types, up to 384k PCM and DSD128. I have reviewed and agree to the foregoing Terms & Conditions, including the McIntosh Privacy Policy linked therein. Is this the first signs of McIntosh's new owners seeking to cut costs? This transparency was achieved without the presentation sounding clinical or etched: "The Shinai has the spirit of a revealer. McIntosh MA5300 Stereo integrated amplifier with built-in DAC at LG found that the MAC7200's tuner equaled his Day Sequerra FM Reference's ability to generate a jet-black background and render broadcast music punchy, dynamic, and involving, although it lacked the FM Reference's transparency and selectable bandwidth filters. It is a serious, high-value music-playing machine." . HR summed up the V3's headphone amp as "not as powerful, dynamic, or transparent as the Schiit Ragnarok's, but it's closer to that than any others I've auditioned." The words integrated amplifier are scarcely adequate to this task: The compact (only 8.5" wide) NAD M10 incorporates the BluOS operating system/music playback app; network, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity; analog and digital inputs; support for Tidal, Qobuz, et al. Even so, despite the obvious clarity of the moving-coil input, we prefer the bolder, more dynamically punchy presentation we hear through the moving-magnet option. Specified maximum power is 35Wpc into 48 ohms in Ultralinear mode or 18Wpc into 48 ohms in triode mode, which JA's measurements confirmed, though at a slightly higher level of THD+noise than the Stereophile-standard 1%. Nevertheless, "very strongly recommended," was how AD summed up his auditioning. With his DeVore O/93 speakers driven from the 8 ohm outputs, KM wrote that the E-Glo I's sound was "vivid, fast, forceful, clean, very open, spacious, transparent, dynamic, resolving, and full-bodiedeven full-blooded. Editor's Note: There are no Class D integrated amplifiers listed. MA252 Integrated Amplifier. McIntosh MA252 Integrated Amplifier 17-1/2"W x 7-5/8"H x 22"D. weight: 76 lbs. (Vol.43 No.2 WWW). In its base form ($38,000), the I1 provides one pair each of balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) analog inputs, plus an S/PDIF digital-input board and two balanced (XLR) stereo outputs. It will do it all superbly." Height, 9.5in, X Width, 17.5in, X Depth, 22in. Better than Copeland. Created in time for Cambridge Audio's 50th anniversary, the Edge A charts newish territory: a combination D/A processor-integrated amplifier designed and built to perfectionist standards, offered at a considerable though less-than-extortionate price. Regardless which model you choose, you will be rewarded with years of McIntosh quality listening pleasure. T+A PA 3100 HV: $23,500 If the inclusion of a record player input makes you think that this is a somewhat traditional, backward-looking design for those who view the '70s through some rose-tinted spectacles, dont worry the MA8950 is much more of an all-rounder than that. An integrated amp is the best option for most people building a home hi-fi system. The budget-priced NAD C 328 combines Bluetooth connectivity, a 24-bit/192kHz DAC based on a Cirrus Logic chip, an MM-ready phono stage, and a Hypex-based class-D amplifier rated at 40Wpc into 8 ohmsall in an enclosure whose size and appearance are closer to those of the company's legacy products than this amp's contemporary stablemate, the odd-looking D 3020. Refinement is generally excellent and at any normal listening levels there is no sign of unwanted edge or hardness to the sound. Creaky remote, cheap feeling front panel controls, on an amp at this price level. Compared with the more expensive, "fully loaded" Schiit Ragnarok 2, the CXA81 had better top-end air, a slightly wider and deeper soundstage and a more laid-back presentation; the Schiit amp offered better tone, slightly better drive, and more intimacy. Mike Garry, owner of Hudson Valley HiFi, reveals the most popular vintage receivers and amplifiers that people are buying. The nova300 also boasts double-DSD capability alongside 32/384 PCM, and Peachtree's Dynamic Noise Elimination (DyNEC), which is claimed to eliminate, among other noises, those associated with the display screens of smartphones and tablets. It sounds bright and breezy on the evergreen Stir It Up and then shifts effortlessly to showing appropriate grit on Concrete Jungle. It retains the Mk.II's mostly hard-wired circuitry and the fixed bias for each channel's push-pull pair of 6CA7/EL34 power pentodes but uses transistors to provide voltage gain. Recommended Components 2021 Edition Integrated Amplifiers & Receivers Tube amps tend to be lower in power, and higher in distortion, and they typically have trouble dealing with low impedance loads compared to their solid state brethren. We oblige with the Naim ND555/555 PS DR and Linn Klimax DSM AV music streamer. An optional DAC ($1000) decodes PCM to 24/192 and, via USB, DSD to 128, and works with the ConversDigital mConnect app, which also allows streaming from Tidal, Qobuz, et al. Output 1 connects to the internal power amp input through a pair of short external links, while the second output can be used to drive an outboard power amplifier or, possibly more likely, feed a subwoofer. Not always a fan of class-D amplifiers, HR wrote that "the Marantz version of class-D clarity brought greater transparency to the upper five octaves, in a way I have not previously experienced with any class-D module." Rotel RA-1592 MKII. (Vol.40 No.10 WWW), Rogers High Fidelity 65V-1: $4000 (Vol.41 No.4 WWW), Cambridge Audio Edge A: $6000 McIntosh Integrated Amplifiers: Amplifier & Preamplifier All-in-One While the sound through digital inputs lacks a little of the transparency and dynamic expression of the line stages, listening through them is still an enjoyable experience. (Vol.41 No.5 WWW), NAD Masters Series M33: $4999 (Vol.43 No.8 WWW), Schiit Audio Ragnarok 2: $1799 The Jadis should not be partnered with loudspeakers whose impedance drops below 4 ohms, JA concluded. Todd Cooperider writes "McIntosh simply exudes class, quality, and that "it" factor that's very hard to achieve." The considerably more expensive 25th Anniversary Zen Triode Amplifier features an African Padauk hardwood plinth, gold-plated switches, super-duty gold-plated tube sockets, NOS Western Electric Milliamp meters, a choice of knobs for the dual-mono volume controls, and three independent, tube-regulated power supplies, one for each tube. Includes our Hybrid Drive technology that uses the best of vacuum tubes and solid state to produce the best sound performance; Vacuum tube . As JA discovered, the Ayre allowed singing voices a fine sense of presence, consistently projecting them forward in the soundstagealthough that was judged "too much of a good thing" with overcooked recordings. Turning to the M8xi's digital inputs, JVS felt that these bettered those in the Krell K-300i. The MA8950 is a hugely impressive amplifier. What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. (The EL84s run in fixed-bias mode, but adjustments cannot be made from outside the casework.) JCA noted the amp's "remarkable sense of openness," combined with "impressive" bass weight and a pleasing freedom from editorializing: "It [was] honest, evenhanded, liquid, open." It knocked me flat with its ability to sound good in so many ways." The V3 displayed a fun, taut energy the original did not have." Maximum Total Harmonic Distortion at any power level from 250 milliwatts to rated power is 0.005%. . "It's the feature set that impresses most" said JCA of the new Levinson integratednot a surprising point of view considering the No.5805's MM and MC phono inputs; digital inputs that accept PCM to 32/284 and DSD up to DSD256; a headphone amplifier; and support for Bluetooth wireless (but not from iPhones) and full MQA decoding and rendering. But when mated with the right speakersKM got the best results with Elac's Debut B6 ($279/pair)this amp "consistently made music with a detailed, very dynamic, natural sound." Used with his DeVore O/93 speakers and playing Erich Leinsdorf's recording of Wagner's Die Walkre, Herb found that "the INT-25 let the O/93s make that Die Walkre into something so beautiful I just laid back and basked in it." Rega. "Plenty of bass showed that the low-powered Moonriver 404 Reference has what it takes to drive the challenging Wilson Alexia 2's," he added. In that follow-up, HR found that the A-S3200 played more dramatically into Harbeth 30.2 speakers than his reference Pass Labs INT-25 had. I lifted the component out and noticed there was a rectangle of pink foam surrounding the tube section. "With the Zen's bias switch on High," he added, "music from the RP-600Ms was reproduced with a level of overt vividosity that I had not experienced previously." (Vol.42 No.7 WWW), McIntosh MAC7200: $7500 MHA150 2-Channel Headphone Amplifier Supports DSD64, DSD128 & DSD256 files 3 headphone impedance ranges MA9000 2-Channel Integrated Amplifier 300 Watts x 2 channel 8-band tone control Comes with DA1 Digital Audio Module installed Optional dealer installed upgrade to DA2 Digital Audio Module available MA8900 2-Channel Integrated Amplifier Best McIntosh amplifier for Klipsch - 2-Channel Home Audio - The We would start with the ones that are closest to the nominal impedance of your speakers, but there is no harm in trying the others. McIntosh MA8900 Stereo Integrated Amplifier Review See JVS's review elsewhere in this issue. 12.11.2017 | Awards Awards Share McIntosh MA8900 Named 2017 Best Stereo Integrated Amplifier First reviewed by them in October 2017, SECRETS of Home Theater and High Fidelity has named the MA8900 as their 2017 Best Stereo Integrated Amplifier. There are no such misgivings about the headphone output. Playing his favorite extreme-bass test track, ""Electrified II" by Yello, with his demanding Wilson Alexia 2 speakers, he wrote that "even if [the Musical Fidelity's] bass wasn't as gut-shaking even if the soundstage didn't seem to reach out to me and gobble me up body and soulit sounded really good." And even though KM never really warmed to using its tone controlsthough he admired the "very smooth, finely graded" adjustments they providedhe concluded that the L-509X was "one of the most intimate-sounding, dynamic, texturally nuanced, truthful purveyors of music of my experience." (Vol.41 No.8 WWW), Ayre Acoustics EX-8 "Integrated Hub": $5990$7850 For casual listening, however, it is perfectly acceptable. Used with a CD transport, the RR2160's Burr-Brownbased DAC didn't reach the same performance heights as more expensive outboard processors, yet nonetheless surprised Herb with its "unfettered verity." Sony's upcoming wireless earbuds for PS5 boast one killer sound quality feature, AirPods Max 2: release date rumours, potential price, features, spec leaks and WWDC 2023, We've built a five-star streaming hi-fi system that provides simplicity and fantastic sound quality, The best home entertainment buying advice, Issues delivered straight to your door or device. The Ten Most Significant Amplifiers of All Time . Deletions Best Speakers for McIntosh MA252 - A Hifi Enthusiast McIntosh MAC7200: $7500 This classic stereo receiver may well be the most expensive model currently available, but LG was mightily impressed by what if offers. This hefty (101lb), powerful amplifierJA measured clipping powers of 500Wpc into 8 ohms, 650Wpc into 4 ohmsoffers both analog and S/PDIF and USB digital inputs. JVS suspected that the Yamaha was not an optimal match for his current-hungry Wilson speakers, mandating a follow-up with higher-impedance loudspeakers. There are two output transformer taps, optimized for 4 or 8 ohm loudspeakers. By Tucker Bowe and Ian White Updated: Oct 13, 2022 Gear Patrol When you're building your first home stereo system, an integrated amplifier is your best friend. RIAA equalization featured slight boosts in the treble and midbass regions; the phono input's distortion and noise were very low. (Vol.41 No.3 WWW), Outlaw Audio RR2160MkII: $999 $$$ . In a Follow-Up, JA noted the Ayre's "subtler" presentation compared to the similarly conceived Cambridge Audio Edge A integrated. The Exposure XM5 blends retro and cutting-edge with apparent ease, combining an MM-friendly phono stage with a 24/192 USB DAC in a case whose half-width size calls to mind the pre-1993 Naim Nait. The MA8950 doesnt quite have the rhythmic precision to truly get our feet tapping but it remains an engaging listen nonetheless. It delivers music with an eager expressive energy, in concert with a forgiving musical nature." The 100Wpc output section retains Ayre's feedback-free Diamond circuithere, the output devices are mounted directly to the bottom of the amp's aluminum enclosurebut disposes with the company's Variable-Gain Transconductance (VGT) volume system in favor of a conventional Alps pot. After measuring the Brio, JA praised in particular the "superb" overload margins of its phono section, and declared the amp "well-sorted" overall, although he did note that it runs hot. perhaps not as expensive as vintage McIntosh but there are a lot of audiophiles willing to spend money on . All the Macs use large transformers, caps & heatsinks. We are used to seeing such a choice of connections on the back of valve amplifiers, but not on those of a transistor persuasion. Vacuum tube preamplifier and solid state power amplifier, Comes with DA2 Digital Audio Module installed, 55% increase in Dynamic Headroom for better music peak reproduction, Comes with DA1 Digital Audio Module installed, Optional dealer installed upgrade to DA2 Digital Audio Module available. A part of Luxman's newly revived NeoClassical series, the SQ-N150 is built around a 10Wpc (into 6 ohms) tubed output stage that uses stereo pairs of EL84 output pentodes preceded by two 12AX7 dual-triodes.
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