parnellauckland

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $1800.00 from second hand

Summary:
Purchased for NZD$1800 second hand. In a word... superb! I have used a Plinius SA100 and Audiolab 8000c with great pleasure for several years. When looking for an upgrade i hadnt counted on an integrated. After audtioning several pre/power combinations I tried the e160i. At retail, value for money, you would need to spend 4 times that amount on a pre/power combo to come anywhere near it. It gets approval all round from me. and finding one second hand in mint condition was brilliant.

Strengths:
easily beats pre/power combos of 4 times the price. Superb warm sound with plenty of power to satisfy most users.

Weaknesses:
can be a little finicky to match. will show up any weakness in other components in yr system.

Price Paid:  $1750.00 from Swedish Dealer

Summary:
I am a budding audiophile. I have listened to numerous systems in my country and beleive me, there are people here who are willing to spend money on sound system and I know I will be one of them but as of the moment i have a limted budget. I recently acquired a thiel cs5 for a bargain but the first owner told me that the cs5 is known for taxxing even big amplifiers. So I decided to purchase a pre-amplifier for I am saving up for a krell350mcx. The dealer did not understand what I was saying so I just got a neat looking integrated amp which I can use for my athena s1's. When I got home I was really tempted to use the e160i on the cs5 and I eventually did. I am using xlo type 5 wire and magnan type vi interconects. the sound is superb. you can hear every detail and even feel the resonation of the guitar. but sadly, it tends to over heat at high volumes so I must play it at moderate volumes where in the amplifiers temperature is just right. the soundstage is 3 dimensional but the base is over emphasize. I am planning to keep this integrated amp for a while and use it as a pre amp when I can afford a krell 350mcx

Strengths:
clarity, tube like sound, sturdy looks

Weaknesses:
lack of power perhaps this will sound good on medium or small monitors

Similar Products Used:
jadis da60, rotel

Price Paid:  $1495.00 from audio advisor

Summary:
I am honored to be the first reviewer for the E160i! I recently replaced my entire system after 15 years of enjoyment with a Proton; Infinity based system, where I wasn’t too obsessed with ultimate sound. Having some financial flexibility these days I decided to reach into audiophyldom (is that a word?) and I did my homework on audioreview etc. I loved the 6 dB of headroom on the proton and always was dissatisfied with the dynamics of similarly priced amps that are popular today. I auditioned some Rotel amps at the local hi fi shop and was not too impressed. My first new system purchase was a pair of B&W 601's that immediately sounded much better than the old Infinity bookshelf's. After much research on the amp, I decided to go integrated. I wasn’t willing to spend $2000 and up, and the separates I reviewed in the $1500 price range seemed, in general, to be lacking in power. I didn’t want to be stuck without enough guts if at some point I could realize a dream of getting some electrostatics or something like that. I am running a HSU 12 sub that takes care of the bass quite well. Anyway, I’m glad I took the leap to the $1500 price range and I now can’t believe that I liked the sound of my old system. The Pereaux is so much more detailed there is no real comparison. I can hear individual instruments and there is no extraneous sound except for the music. The bass is also much improved with much more definition from the sub. I recently bought a pair of Silver Audio Silver Bullets 4.0 and the liquidity and openness of sound improved by another level. My new CD player is the Marantz CC4000OSE, which was also a big step up from the old Sony mass market changer. I twisted my own speaker cables with some good quality monster cable and they sound just fine. I suspect I will play with them some time down the road, and I may also get an outboard DAC at some point, but there is only so much the wife will tolerate! I would definitely recommend this amp to anyone looking for great sound, and enjoys a very high build quality, no frills design.

Strengths:
Detail, power, clarity, build quality

Weaknesses:
none so far

Similar Products Used:
Proton integrated