Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Bought my A9555 at J&R. Worked 3 hours and just stopped, seems some components stopped working. And there isn't any reason for that since I'm experienced with hifi equipment and handle this one with care...
Didn't get satisfying assistance from Onkyo nor do they car about your review when you post one on their website, mine hasn't been published, they jusat put on the A9555's page very positive reviews and delete the others.
So I won't give any opinion regarding any possible acoustic quality of this product since 3 hours is a short time to evaluate it.
But all I know is that I should have keep away from Onkyo and from this specific amplifier, I'm very disappointed with lack of reliability of Onkyo's A9555...

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
After reading all the positive reviews here and elsewhere about this amp, I was looking forward to hearing it with my B&W 683s. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed when the unit I received was defective out of the box - I plugged it in and all I heard was a steady, loud clicking - like an electronic clock. I tried resetting the unit as directed in the manual, but like the old Timex ad, it just kept clicking. So much for Onkyo's quality control - don't they test these things at the factory?

Fortunately, B&H Photo provided a prompt full refund. Now I need to find an alternative product. I don't think I will buy another Onkyo 9555 because if it doesn't work when it's fresh from the factory, how can I rely on it over the long term? I had never owned a Class D amp before because the switching issues (sound, longevity) made me nervous. I suspect a switching issue was the cause of the defect. I think I'll stick with a tried and true old school Class A amp. I also think I will buy from a brick-and-mortar dealer, not via mail order - it's too much trouble to get return authorizations, repack and drop at a shipper, follow-up on refunds, etc.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:

I purchased this product after finally ditching my Phase Linear Prs 3800 and the DRS 900. A classic pre-amp and power-amp combination that in it's day was considered some of the best of the best. The Onkyo A-9555 far exceeds the quality cost combination of some of the old stuff. Clear trasnsparency, tight solid bass, superior build quality and exceptional value make this a two channel audiophile's dream. I can now hear things in classical music that I never heard before. A case in point would be Anne Sophie Mutter's Brahms violin sonatas or the Deutsche Grammophon release of Anna Netrebko's "Souvenirs". The voice sounds almost as if it were in the room. For crystal clear digital sound.....I don't think this amp can be beat...it is truly a must buy.

Price Paid:  $450.00 from J&R

Summary:
I use my Onkyo A-9555 with Onkyo's own DX-7555 CD player and T-4555 tuner. I also have a Slim Devices Squeezebox (v.3) that sees lots of duty. Speakers are Klipsch La Scala II's, with a pair of Velodyne DLS-4000R subs.

The Klipsch speakers are easy to drive, but are very revealing of any nasties from upstream. Unfortunately, the Onkyo does have a few of these! Mainly, I'm talking about turn-on and switching transients. Nothing major, but they are there and I wish they weren't. Fortunately, at least the switching "pops" go away when the amp warms up just a bit. The turn-on pops though, are enough to bring the subs on, sometimes.

And that, my friends, is the end of the bad news. Everything else about this amp is positive! The sound is fast and clean, with no solid state glare, thinness or grunge. As long as you use the direct switch, bi-passing the tone controls, the sound is wonderful. Which is not to say the tone controls are bad, but they do insert a bit of hiss into the mix. Still, it's nice to have them available for recordings that really need the band-aid.

Inputs are pleanteous, although I could wish for pre out jacks, which would be useful for driving a sub or two.

I can't really comment on the bass because like I said, I use a pair of subs. I run the La Scala II's full range, rolling the subs off above 80 Hz. But the horns naturally drop off very rapidly below 50 Hz, on their own, so the Onkyo amp has little work to do below 80 Cycles. Highs and mids, though, are very neutral and clean. No characteristic "sound" with this amp. It just delivers the music.

The remote is very easy to use, compared to the typical A/V receiver remote. Controls are logically placed. The controls on the fascia all operate with a pleasing feel. We're not talking Krell, here, but quality seems very good.

Strengths:
High Value
Solid Build Quality
Great Looks!
Clean, Fast, Neutral sound

Weaknesses:
No pre out jacks
No remote tone controls (Hardly any serious two-channel gear does, unfortunately!)
Damping factor is low, but then, my subs are doing most of the work down low anyway.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer integrated amps from the seventies.

Price Paid:  $550.00 from Authorized Dealer

Summary:
I traded this one for the much more musical sounding A9755. Sure the A9555 has the ultra transparency whatever is the source detail, but the more powerful 9755 sounded fuller and simply just more musical to my ears. The thin highs and brightness is gone making the 9755 sounds closer to the expensive ICE based class d amps. Though to be fair, I don't know of any other Class D amp that sounds better at the price. Switching to a similarly priced Class A, the CEC 3300R sounds way more musical than the A9755 but I don't believe I'm hearing what the music is supposed to sound like so it's unacceptable for critical listening. Anyway the A9555 is no way a bad amp, just to my standard for real high end, it starts with the sound of the A9755 which I believe is not available in the US. My overall rating below is for its sound quality. Value is definitely a 5.

Strengths:
Transparency and warm bass (due to low damping factor).

Weaknesses:
Fuzzy highs and overall bright representation

Similar Products Used:
Pretty much all integrated up to $4000