Price Paid:  $600.00 from euro

Summary:
I bought this amp in 2001 in my preferred hifi shop in turin. I think i was very fortunate, since i paid only Lit.1.200.000 (=600€). It sounds really good (although i don't have speakers of the same quality... when i'll have money...). I really love its sound in listening to jazz and similar, because of its strong and powerful sound in low freq (good for bass guitar and contrabbasso) and the cristal sound of hi freq. I can say everyone should have it! Ciao alessandro

Summary:
As Paul says; this amp really sings and is certainly a great bargain. What's even better is that for a very modest investment in time and materials, you can make this amp truly wonderful. After a little cutting and polishing this little diamond will sparkle and routinely make MUCH more expensive and renowned competitors go blind, panic and run home to their demo rooms in fright and shame!
Compulsory replacements in descending order of ROI: speaker terminals, coupling caps (try the Jensen/Audio Note oil filled variety for heavenly strings and voices. They also provide a slight treble lift that suits this amp well), all power supply caps (the ELNA cerafines are a bit pricey but are great value no less; experience even faster and much tighter and extended bass as well as cleaner midrange). Finally consider replacing the input connectors and wires and the resistors in the signal path. Also the anode voltage may be lowered to approx. 410 volts as this (in my experience) greatly increases stability and valve life.
The end result: an amp that is irresistably jolly, musical and non-fatiguing to listen to. It'll brighten up your day - any day and all day. It manages this feat by having superb communication skills, something that in this case may not be confused with superficiality or shallowness. The proof?I've tried to put this thing away many times since 1985, but eventually every effort has failed - more often than not miserably.
Is it for you? Well, all the normal cons regarding a small valve amp apply: you should not have a cavernous listening room and you should probably not play mainly Bruckner or Primal Scream. That's it.
Associated equipment at present: Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 CD player, C-J PFR pre-amp, ProAc R1-SC speakers, Cabasse subwoofer (high level input), Transparent cabling.
Further upgrades considered: Border Patrol PS.

Strengths:
Truly excellent timbre, musicality and speed. Eminently serviceable and upgradeable.

Weaknesses:
The mk.1 (the "toaster" discussed here) suffers from modest mechanical build quality. The main PCB especially is a bit fragile and does not age too well. Later models are better in this respect. Reasonably wide and tall, but somewhat shallow soundstage.

Summary:
This amp may not be the most beautiful or refined tube amp around (although the anniversary edition is far more pleasing to the eye as well as the ear) however it does represent a wonderful bargain for those who are looking for the natural timber offered by valve amps without the loss of bass strength and speed normally associated with this class of amplifiers.
Compared with a transistor amp of an equivalent price the innovations 800 really sings. Ok so the frequency extremes might not be so extended or the performance so technically reproduced but the overall immpression is one of effortless musicality rather than clinical sonic point-scoring. What is perhaps more surprising is that the bass weight and volume available (with a fairly sensitive pair of speakers, I use Snells) is every bit a immpressive as a modern transistor amp; making this a good choice for heavy rock as well as lighter listening.

Overall, if you can put up with the fact that the amp looks like an oversize toaster and gives out a similar ammount of heat, then it's a rough diamond. Well worth looking out for