Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Para música culta , junto con mis queridas Sependor SP/2, es de lo mas cálido
al igual que con mi amplificador a válvulas.
El sonido es cálido pero sin perder detalle, mucho brio y dinámica que hacen del conjunto un competidor serio para cualquier combinación de alta gama.
Lástima que aparatos así no se fabriquen.

Weaknesses:
Excesivo ruido de fondo, aunque desaparece a volumen mínimo y no intercede con la música. (aparentemente).

Similar Products Used:
Aura va-50. Rotel 971,Hafler TA-1600 ,Hafler P3000,

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Ebay

Summary:
Get some decent dance music and biwire some good mission or b&W speakers and you will be on the edge of your seat when listining, base is amazingly clean accurate and full. Music sounds so dramatic and detailed. The main thing i noticed was imense sterio seperation, you hear little bits of songs firing from the left speaker to the right with imense precision. This amp is perfect for DJ's it allows you to hear so much more and more accuratly than standard mass produced sony or phillips. I never really cared about sound quallity until I went to a friends house and heard music through this amp, 2 months later i got rid of my sony amp and i replaced it with this. The most common mistake that produces over bloated and crap sounding base is when you have speakers with the base port (where the air comes out) in the rear up against the wall. If you want the best sound from this amp make sure if you have rear firing ports in speakers that there a good distance from the wall.
I have also improved the cables. This amp is discontinued now which is a shame in one way but it also means you can get them for a bargin second hand.

Strengths:
Amazing power, bass response, detail the best value you can get, if you find a well looked after second hand one.

Weaknesses:
needs good speakers, cables and biwiring for top performance

Similar Products Used:
Marantz, Cambridge audio a1mk3, sony

Price Paid:  $250.00 from HyperFi

Summary:
This was my third amp after many years with a Rotel 840 and a Quantum 102/202. The build quality on the Aura amp is excellent though the phono stage has failed and I now use a Creek OBH 8 with better results. I am intrigued as to why the amp runs hot because as far as I know it does not use class A switching. One of its best tricks is to allow proper bi-wiring at the amp end as well as the speaker connection. Soundwise, it has a big and controlled sound and enough power to seriously worry your neighbours. Even though it is black it avoids looking like all the other black boxes because of its high gloss fascia and dserves to be sited on its own away from anything that you do not want to melt. I still use this amp for stereo duties despite having an Arcam FMJ A22/P25 pre and power (which is used for home cinema). I listened to the two for stereo and whilst the Arcam in bi-amp mode bettered the Aura, I could not justify wasting the home cinema capabilities of the Arcam, so the Aura will carry as the mainstay of the stereo. It proved more than capable of living with more esoteric kit when I plugged in an Arcam FMJ CD23. Its moderately bass heavy presentation can be tamed with bass tight speaker designs e.g. tansmission line or sealed enclosures. Avoid bass heavy ported designs as these will not suit the Aura. I use B&W P4s which have a very fast and dry bass (probably not co-incidental that B&W are ideal for the Aura)

Strengths:
Strong presentation, great midrange and controlled treble. Beautifully made. Very suitable for rock and jazz duties.

Weaknesses:
No remote but can use digital volume on your CD if it has one.

Similar Products Used:
Rotel RB840-A
Quantum 102/202 pre/power (early 80s vintage)

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Germany

Summary:
Bought this thing in 1993 (!) and used it on a frequent base since then up to December 2002 without any problems. Sure, the thing gets hot, but even longer playing doesn't affect the amp. Instead, it has a great, warm sound (used it with Focal Speaker Kits, first with the AURA Cd-Player, later with the Sony DVP-NS 900 SACD Player. I just replaced it (for surround reasons) with the Harman Kardon AVR 5500, and although the Harman is great, for Stereo purposes the Aura still sounds so much better, speaking of clearness, bass volume, dynamics and especially warmness. This wasn't humid Hong Kong but dry Germany, and for the "cold" middle european user this is best buy!

Strengths:
Everything from design over quality to sound!

Weaknesses:
Sorry: None!

Price Paid:  $300.00 from well known UK store

Summary:
If you're after sound for your pound, then go no further. Discontinued now, but if you find a nice used one at a good price, jump on it! Listen first though (sorry to hear about reliability issues - none for me). Also, consider the VA80SE-x - it's worthy little brother (I used this as a power amp for rear home cinema speakers. Surprisingly, plenty of power)! Minimalist design places emphasis on high quality key components. Beautiful looks and sound to match. Runs warm, but that's not a problem. For the best sound, leave it on, it'll heat your room!

Strengths:
Drop dead gorgeous looks and decent build quality. Soundstaging is quite literally awesome. Balance is good with healthy, supply of bass, warm mid-range and the sweetest 'dolce' treble for miles!

Weaknesses:
Bass can be a little flabby - use tight speakers. Gets very warm, but this isn't really a problem - it's designed that way.

Similar Products Used:
Aura VA80 SE-x - very good. Otherwise, there's nothing too similar.