Belgarchi

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.75 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $830.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
From a practical point of view, I regret the absence of gain control, no balanced (XLR) inputs, and the fact that the distance between speaker terminals is non-standard. But this amp is nice-looking and relatively small. Very well built, with 4 (!) transformers and 54,400 microFarads. The sound is really excellent. Tight, deep, powerful bass. Medium slightly recessed, but very clear. Stable, wide soundstage. Highs are very good, but can be slightly aggressive if the source is too lively. Better than all sub-$1500 power amps I listened too, and the bass are better than Conrad-Johson MF2250A. Stereophile Class A, and I agree with them.

Strengths:
Look, size, power, sound (especially bass and mids), build quality.

Weaknesses:
Lack of features, can emphasize the highs with badly match source components

Waxxiemann

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.94 of 5, 18.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1800.00 from American Hi-Fi

Summary:
Compared with Bryston 3BSST and the Classe Ca101 and 201 I prefered the "all around sound" of this wonderful little monster. It exceeded in all feilds. The Classe CA 201 was a great sounding amp with a lot of power but it was a little to laid back for me. It was also twice more than twice the price. The front panel of the Classe amps is about 1/2" thick and probably accounts for about half of the price. The bryston amp was really nice sounding as well but lacked the resolution of the MF. The A3.2 CR has more power than I'll ever need and at a good price (1800 Canadian) to boot. I am using Harmonic technologies interconnects and a Tara Labs power cable and I find the results to be very pleasing. The amp is running off of the pre's from my Marantz SR6300. I really liked the sound my reciever was producing, but this is a whole new level of clairity and resolution that I honestly was not expecting. Having this amp in my rig also eases a lot of the burdon off of my reciever when using all 5 channels in a movie situation, allowing the surround and center channels to be more dynamic during intense passages. I think that the key to judging weather a peice of audio equipment is what you are looking for or not is to try it in your own home. It may sound great is the showroom but crappy when hooked up to your gear. With this amp, I feel like I am finally moving away from mass market and into true Hi-Fi. Now I can turn my sights to some new speakers. Highly recomended!

Strengths:
Fit and finish (35 lbs) Resolution and bass Soundstaging No money consuming frills Chasis mounted jacks Great binding posts Choke regulation

Weaknesses:
Not recomended for large planar speakers or very ineffeciant loads.

Similar Products Used:
Classe, Bryston (auditioned)