Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This amplifier needs to have different tubes that the stock Chinese tubes. When upgrading to the Svetlana EL34, the bass grew robust the the midrange opened wide and clear, with great depth of image. There is a harmonic richness that I've rarely heard before. The highs are perhaps the weakest, soft and forgiving. Dynamic nuance & bloom makes me swoon at emotional climaxes. Though my pair has only about 6 weeks use, they continue to improve. My speakers are a one way/ single driver design, and therefore an easy load. I don't know how these are with complex crossovers. I also have been using thin solid core speaker wire for a long time (as the above reviewer was recommended. These replaced a Decware Zen amplifier...which is more revealing (too revealing for most CDs) in the highs, but is less in the bass. What is better that retails for less than a grand?

Strengths:
Sweet, detailed, really swings and boogies.

Weaknesses:
May not work with complex multi-driver speakers.

Similar Products Used:
Decware Zen 84C; Dyna ST-35; Berning 30 watt; Dyna ST-70 modified; Creek A42; Exposure; Naim Nait 1.

Price Paid:  $465.00

Summary:
I was looking for more power in a single-end design and decided to try this ASL model. It looked good, had a claimed output of 8/watts a channel (push-pull), and the price was below cheap!

Received the amp and proceeded to break it in by playing 24 hours a day. After a hundred hours the unit threw a huge soundstage but rather flat in depth. The highs were very rolled off and the bass, although more than adequate, was somewhat loose and bloated. The amps lacked detail and presented a very blended sound. Individual instruments were not seperated by space or air.

I spoke with the dealer about it. He strongly suggested I buy his interconnects and speaker wire and that everyhing would sound much better. He kept saying that "thinner is better" particularly with the SPM 8's. Well, I beg to differ in that opinion. I shouldn't have to buy anything special to make an amp sound decent, so I experimented with various gauge speaker wire and fashioned a pair of interconnects of 30ga wire. And, I got a second matched pair of EL34's by EH. The improvement was very negligible. The sound was just not acceptable and emails to/from J. Lau gave me no encouragement to modify or switch out parts.

The dealer was not happy that I wanted to return the amp but I did anyway and took a real butt-kicking from custom duties both ways.

I'm sure that ASL must make some fine sounding amps, but not at this price point. And, a note from experience: Look really hard for U.S. source for a component. When you cross a border everything gets very shaky and scary, particularly if it doesn't work out. (BTW, the dealer took over 6 weeks to return half my money.)

The value is poor. The overall rating is poor. Look to spend a little more money and get further up the ladder.

Strengths:
nice looking, exude quality fit and finish

Weaknesses:
sleepy sounding, bloated bass

Similar Products Used:
Decware Zen, Acurus DIA