ratbbb2

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from ebay

Summary:
Haven been a audio salesman in the late eighties/early ninties I came across a few things that were well worth there cost. This my freinds is one of them. At a discount price of 299 to 329 it bettered many amps from the likes of Kenwood ,JVC Sony and even one of the leaders in Mid Fi Onkyo. While most if not all of the above mentioned makers make a better amp than this, none is near this price. I Have upgraded though the years and now have all tube gear costing much more but retain my trusted Audiosourse amp 2 for use in my computer room. The capabilities of this amp are endless. To get the most I would look into a vintage (or DYI) tube pre amp or tube buffer between the source and power amp. I am currantly running it direct from my soundcard out to a pair of JBL Control 5 (PRO VIII) speakers with decent results. I would rather you try some better speakers as these are not as dynamic as , say a B+W or Quad . Yes it's that Good . Try it with tubes and decent speakers and invite some audio nut freind over to listen, I'm sure they'll be surprised. The only down side is the meters were not as dependible as the rest of the components inside. If your looking into wireing your home for sound, you can use them in a daisy chain configuration as they have line out and thus can be wired in paralell allowing you to set the appropiate volume to each room. If your looking to sell yours feel free to contact me. I would love to get a couple more for that use. Roger

Strengths:
Nutral sound with decent spacing , Nice bottom and clear detailed highs. Looks. Price

Weaknesses:
Mids aren't as lush as I like until you ad tubes into the mix then stand back. Meters aren't dependible (I don't have any problems with mine)as they should be.

Similar Products Used:
Too many to mention but the one that Made it clear for me was the Onkyo M501 and the Dynaco Stereo 70 although they're both very differant peices I think the adiosource covered more for less

sokato

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $180.00

Summary:
Well worth the money. I've had this amp for over a year and it has performed flawlessly. I have it in the living room in a simple 2-channel audio setup (no TV in the room). Clean, pure music. Sure you can spend more, but you'd have to spend close to a $1000 to get a better amp.

Strengths:
price, size, sound

Weaknesses:
Not the most powerfull. If you want something to bring the walls down, go elsewhere.

janekfr

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.40 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $250.00

Summary:
This is a wonderful amp for the money: an oustanding value, period. With good speakers and a music source (I use AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD player and Polk Audio RT600i speakers), this amp will perform very well, though, of course, it can be bettered, for more money (but only if it is carefully - and lavishly - spent). Staging is good, distortion negligible, transparency very good. In value, this is surely a 5 star product. In quality, the amp represents the point where audiophile reproduction of music may be said to take off. My tube CD player sounds warm, with instruments well resolved and delicate, rewarding detail showing up where it would get lost in a lesser system; there is depth and enjoyable complexity to the sound. This amp also functions somewhat as a preamp with its separate volume controls and a CD IN; if all you need to connect to your system is a CD player, then you don't need a separate preamp (but there is no remote and you have to adjust each channel's volume separately (the knobs work nice and smooth) - you may choose to adjust volume with your CD's remote in such a case). I do not agree with the previous reviewer that a CD will sound bad if directly plugged into this amp (unless there is some incompatibility between the two components) - my set up works very well, and distinctly better, cleaner that if I plug in my substandard preamp Audiosource PreAmp ONE/A (read my warning below). As stated by AudioSource, CD IN and LINE IN cannot be used simultaneously (meaning you cannot plug in two things at the same time, not just play two things at the same time) - if you try, the sound will be terrible. I do not know why there is a separate CD input, and the manual does not explain what are its advantages or its special purpose, though I might guess that some CD players may perform better if connected to this dedicated input rather than the standard LINE IN (the manual states that LINE IN is to be used with inputs from a preamp, CD, tuner, etc.). Warning: do NOT use this amp with AudioSource PreAmp ONE/A, which is a low audio quality component that only appears to go together with this amp, and may fool one into believing that it represents a similar standard and a match. This slim component looks quite elegant. I have no idea whether the meters display correct information, but they are surely too bright in the dark, which is the only minus in the appearance category. The inputs and outputs are, unfortunately, not gold plated. Even for these two reasons I will NOT take a star off the overall rating for this amp, because this unit is so unexpectedly good. Don't shy away from it if you are looking for a solid quality component while watching your budget - with this amp you'll be able to afford a better CD player and/or speakers, which is the way I went, since no matter how much you spend on an amp (or a preamp), they will not compensate for the lousy reproduction of music either at its source or, even more importantly, at the point where it actually becomes physical sound waves for our ears to enjoy.

Strengths:
top shelf sound reproduction

Weaknesses:
bright meters, no gold contacts

Price Paid:  $250.00 from jandr

Summary:
The Amp Two is a pretty decent amplifier, that is if you have a decent preamp. The Amp Two has line level inputs, so you can plug your source directly into it. However, if you do this, be prepared for *extremely* horrible sound (perhaps the voltages or impedances do not match? I do not know). However if you have a good preamplifier (particularly some vacuum tube stage in your equipment chain – I use a MG Head DT vacuum tube headphone amplifier), then the sound out of the Amp two sounds pretty much what your preamp sounds like, which in my case is quite good (SIGNIFICANTLY better than skipping the preamp, it really is like night and day). So, I'd say the Amp two just amplifies what goes into it and does not really create much to the sound. Perhaps it really depends on how you match your system, but I believe that the preamp is vital. Oh and be sure to turn the stupid auto off thing off, if your preamp's voltages do not match properly with the Audiosource's input voltages, then it will turn off by itself too much.

Strengths:
VU meters are cool; the AMP two will output to two speakers and headphones simultaneously (I think at least); balance controls; straight forward installation

Weaknesses:
Too dependent on the preamplifier, cannot produce good sound by itself, but only with a good preamp.

Price Paid:  $250.00 from jrmusicworld.com

Summary:
I was reassured by how heavy this unit is when I got it out of the box. The fit and finish is perfect for this price bracket. The clicking and switching that happens when you turn it on is satisfying, in a strange way. This amp has satisfying meat to it. I was having a good time pushing it, and it did not break a sweat. I suppose you might hear some congested mids and highs if you A/B'd it against a megabuck amplifier through some B&W 801's, but I am quite satisfied.

Strengths:
Outstanding value, gain controls, power meters, daisychainable

Weaknesses:
None, but a dual-gang gain control in place of the two separate knobs would be handy.

Similar Products Used:
Carver 1.Ot power amp, an ancient Technics receiver, Monster Cable XP and Original, Polk Audio RTA 15t, Cambridge Soundworks New Ensemble II