harryjmic

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $1050.00 from used

Summary:
I purchased this amp used from Audiogon after reviewing many amplifiers on line. I wanted to stay with an integrated amp for now and the Plinius seemed to be the best for me. This Plinius is an upgrade from my previous amp an Audio Refinement Complete. The Audio Refinement is an excellent amp for the money and I was very happy with it; I just got the upgrade bug. I live in a condo so at this time I would say the Plinius has more than enough power to drive my Vienna Acoustic Mozart speakers. The first thing which struck me about the Plinius is how good it sounds at low, low volumes. The clarity is amazing, and the detail and separation of the instruments makes listening to familiar cd's a revelation. I did notice one peculiar but nice acoustical phenomona right away. When you are seated and listening to music the volume seems very loud, but when you stand up and walk a short distance away you realize it wasn't that loud. I don't know how to explain it other than the sound is so full and rich that maybe my ears perceive it as being loud? This is the first time I have ever experienced this phenomona. A couple things about the amp, it came to me used and when I first hooked it up one channel was out. I had the sender make a claim with UPS. I then sent the amp for repairs to Advanced Audio the Plinius state side repair facility. Vince did an excellent job of repairing the damage and leaving the amp stock with no upgrades to make it an 8200 model. There was some circuit board damage to the phono section because a previous owner operated this amp with the ground loop disconnected. This can send DC through the ciruit board and what will happen is the DC will burn up the copper traces on the board. So if you have an amp with a noisy phono section this is might be what is wrong with the amp. The pre-amp needed repair as well. Is UPS capable of this kind of damage, I wonder? From what I understand the 8150 is the most coveted model of the series and actually has a higher resale value than the 8200's. I have had the amp less than a week and I am sure it will sound better once a couple of the new transistors are broken in. I leave it on all the time and since it's inside a cabinet with a door I purchased a small fan to keep it cool. The construction is solid with high quality components throughout. In the past, I always kind of dismissed more expensive amplifiers believing them to be a waste of money. Boy was I wrong, this Plinius is several orders of magnitude superior to the Audio Refinement and the Audio Refinement is pretty nice. I think I now have an amp I can keep for a long, long, time.

Strengths:
More resolution than old amp, super clear sound but not fatiging, Plenty of power, excellent build quality, I have no complaints.

Weaknesses:
It came to me damaged, not the amps fault.

Similar Products Used:
Nothing similar, this was an upgrade. I have heard a lot of different amps but not in my system so comparisons would be unfair.

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from Analog Shop

Summary:
Very pleased with the overall sound of the amp. Full bodied without being bloated. Very natural. Never harsh, but very revealing. Great impact and speed. Beautiful to look at and operate. Has a the guts of a big amp but does not lack the finesse, either. This amp is for anyone who wants to simplify their system, but not at the expense of the music. While it is not cheap, it beats the pants off of several other integrateds in the price range. It ain''t tubes, but it does not have a harsh transistor , or fuzzy mos-fet sound either. What it does have is a true "rightness" to the sound.

Strengths:
Wonderful sound, built like the proverbial tank.

Weaknesses:
I have read some unfair criticisms that it is all guts and no finesse. This is absolutely not true.

Similar Products Used:
I replaced the ECI3 (Electrocompaniet) same price range. Do not spend your hard earned dough on anything in the $1,500-$2,000 price range without hearing this first!

Price Paid:  $1800.00

Summary:
below is the review on my 8200 i also own a 8150 and i muust say i like the 8150 better as it has a warmer sound and actually better slam in the low end,therefore i am revising my scores on the 8150,this review is on the plinius 8200 (not a upgrades 8150i but a new 8200) the unit looks like the 8150 .actually sounds like a 8150 but does it perform like the 8150 or is it better?it does cost more and yes it does have more watts but is it better? well i owned a 8150 and a 8200 i sold the 8200 a few months ago, it is a great amp ,and it performs flawlessly while i owned it the bass was like my 8150 (quiet a slam) the highs were excellent ,i would recommend the 8200 to anybody i found the performance way above the dollar spent ,but for some reason it did not have the same tonal response as the 8150. i was told that plinius did not use the same parts in the power supply as used in the 8150,if this is true then i guess that would explain the sound differences,but let me say no matter which amp you choose the 8150 or the 8200 you will be more than happy as both sounded great,and both have enough power to drive any speaker,and both beat the pants off the krell,and other integrated amps of the $3000-$4000 price range

Strengths:
sound,price,build

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
krell,mac,vtl,cj,you name it

Summary:
Recently upgraded from 8150 to 8200 and after intial burn-in I am overwhelmed with the richer sound. Better detail with extended highs and tight bass. Plenty of clean detail for an honest presentation. More realistic than before. Better imaging; I mean the instruments sound so clean and precise and real in the room. Better soundstage as well.

I listen to jazz, classical, alt-country, rock and find that voices seem cleaner and fuller, and a full scale orchestra seems vibrant and richly textured. True pleasure.

System:
Arcam Alpha 9
Dynaudio Contour Mk II
Harmonic Technology cables and interconnect
Custom Power Company Power Cord Model 11 for Plinius

Strengths:
Amazing realism and detail; phono section; better nuance.

Weaknesses:
none for the price

Similar Products Used:
Arcam, Classe, Krell, Mark Levinson

Summary:
This is a review for those already owning the Plinius 8150i and are thinking about the upgrade to the 8200. This ~$400 upgrade includes replacing the power supplies for the main amp and phono, a new face place, and some other tweaks. The amp gains ~25w/ch, but other specs are said to be stable. You wouldn't think power supplies would have that dramatic an effect on the sound...but read on.

I have another friend who also did the same upgrade and we concur in our judgment, mostly, on the new sound, but with somewhat different conclusions. The word to the wise here is: Caution.

The first thing I noticed about the 8200 is that it took a lot longer to break in after power-on than the 8150, despite extensive bench testing during the upgrade. A full five days needed to elapse before the 8200 was listenable, IMHO. Too etched in the highs. I waited. I worried. But the new unit runs cooler. Less worry.

The next thing I noticed was the lack of mid-range tubey bloom on female vocals. This was disappointing, even if the old sound was less accurate. The sound was less warm, though it wasn't any harder or more etched (after 5 days). Frankly, I didn't like the sound in comparison. I was very worried.

Then I waited a couple more days and started to listen to a bunch of random CDs. I began noticing a new sound coming from my speakers -- a micro-detailed sound with incredible depth and nuance. The sound wasn't particular warm, bloomy, or euphonic, but the new detail knocked me over. Was the old 8150 amp hiding/glossing over this detail? By comparison, it was.

The upgraded phono section makes me wonder why I bothered listening to the old one. The new one is much more detailed, has tighter bass, and sounds full bodied -- it retains a touch of warmth, too. The sound from vinyl is alive. Makes me want to toss my CDs or get a better unit.

My other 8200-upgraded friend says the new sound is much more typical of high-end electronics (Krell, Levinson, Classe) than the old 8150i sound. He doesn't like the results. I have more mixed feelings, thinking that the added micro resolution and improved phono section are adequate compensation for the less tubey mids...maybe.

I'm going to keep my original rating for the 8150i here since I don't want to mix 8200 reviews with the 8150i reviews.

As with all high-end equipment, a personal audition is usually your best bet.

Associated Equipment:
Plinius 8200 (USA rep. upgrade from 8150i); MIT Z-CordII
Dynaudio 1.8MKIIs w/ JPS ultraconductors
Rotel RCD-971 w/ Audioquest Emeralds
VPI HW-19jr w/ Shure VMR-V, VPI MM tonearm (PT-5)
Various power/line filters.

Strengths:
Detailed Presentation; New Phono Section is Amazing

Weaknesses:
Where is the old lush 8150i sound? Do I smell a Krell?