94fxsts

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $960.00 from Lee Hartman & Sons

Summary:
One strong, good sounding amp.

Strengths:
All the power and control most people will ever need. Better than most amps twice the retail.

Weaknesses:
None at this price.

Similar Products Used:
Parasound SAE Denon

Price Paid:  $798.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
As a part of stereo power amp evaluation I picked up this piece at Tweeter at discounted price since the product was discontinued. Honestly, I did not plan to keep this box beyond 30-days trial period since I did not give it a lot of chances against Aragon 4004 MKII which I have been listening for a week and inclined to make a purchase. Basically, I just wanted to confirm Aragon's supremacy to make my separation with $700 a bit sweeter. So I brought this little (42lbs vs. Aragon's 78lbs) underdog home and turned it on ... Oooh man! How wrong I was! My room suddenly filled with clean well balanced sound, with a bass I never thought my Axiom M60Ti's can produce. This amp has very warm tube-like sound with no detail loss. No harshness at high volumes as I used to notice with Aragon. It also has some 3D imaging that my Denon-3802 completely lacked and the Aragon 4004 MKII just hinted on. Also I forgot to mention ROTEL-980 which I rejected after 10 min. of auditioning. It had pronounced bass but not punchy as the B&K does and failed to reproduce fine details of the music. My only concern with B&K is barely noticeable noise from the right channel speaker (the one close to the AC input) but I doubt that would prevent me from keeping this beauty for my enjoyment.

Strengths:
Very musical, tube-like sound, amazing basses, good value for the money.

Weaknesses:
AC noise insulation is not perfect.

Similar Products Used:
Denon 3802, Denon DRA-685, ROTEL-980, Aragon 4004 MKII

Price Paid:  $700.00 from Tweter

Summary:
COuldn't resist demoing this unit when it was on clearance. I noticed an improved soundstange compared to my Rotel RB-965mkII. I now use the B&B for my two front speakers and the Rotel for the center and surrounds. Another benefit of the B&K is a very tight bass. The combination of the REL subwoofer and this particular amp is an impresive one.

Strengths:
Great soundstage, great bass

Weaknesses:
For this price, none

Similar Products Used:
Rotel RB965-mkII

Price Paid:  $1050.00 from hi fi buys

Summary:
I knew the vintage ADCOM 545 was not up to the task when I upgraded TV speakers, so I bought this amp because of hi fi buys 30-day return policy. (I warned the salesman I might fry it with low-impedance.) what the hey? at least I had something to use while I shopped. I was pleasantly surprised when I hooked-up the new TV speakers (Dynaudio Audience 72''s) the amp if very fast and I didn''t catch it rolling-off on the low-end (The Fifth Element opening from laserdisc is my house shake test.) since I couldn''t really blast these speakers until after break-in, I decided to stress-test the amp with my main music speakers (Infinity Reference 9 Kappa''s.) These (five-way) speakers are very difficult loads, varying to 1.5 ohm and the amp showed no sign of strain, though after 45 minutes at a slightly higher than half volume (Astronauts and Heretics,) it got quite toasty. Sound quality and staging were good, especially after both the amp and the speakers warmed-up. Quieter vocals ("In Real Life"- David Goodman) with instrumental wash were very nicely done. Real bottom-end (Wrecking Ball- Emmylou Harris) is very tight until deafening volume. In short, it looks like the amp can stay. It will be hooked directly to the variable outputs of Sony XBR and will run the Dynaudios (which are also a handful.) The bright side is that I can now use my Velo woofer in my bedroom...

Strengths:
Plenty of current.

Weaknesses:
75 watts of power at idle preclude leaving it on all the time. "flow through" cooling (no fan) might cause an issue in a closed cabinet.

Similar Products Used:
various ADCOM amps Carver t-400 JBL MPA-400

Price Paid:  $1100.00 from the record shop..nj

Summary:
very impressed with the extra bass it draws from my "maggies".very spatial and well delineated sound.i thought my carver amp was good until i got this unit.together with my tube pre amp{cj 10A},i now have a nice lush/sweet sound.

Strengths:
very high current,supplies a full/tight bass.runs surprisingly cool,even after on for hours at high levels.also have nice 5 way binding posts.super nice/tight bass.

Weaknesses:
haven't found any yet.not fancy looking,but solid performer.

Similar Products Used:
carver 500T amp.