denjo

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $4000.00 from Norman Audio

Summary:
I bought the YBA Integre DT Delta to be used in my bedroom, having read Sam Tellig's glowing review. YBA's advice to leave the amplifier "ON" all the time suited my needs since it would be very easy for my wife to use the system. My lounge system has mainly been pre/power combos, as I mistakenly thought were mandatory to drive my Thiel 2.4 floorstanders. Recently, I unhooked the YBA from my bedroom to dust the shelves and a thought crossed my mind to pair the YBA with my Thiels. Surprise #1: the Integre had no difficulty driving the Thiels to the usual listening sound levels and has shown no signs of clipping. Surprise #2: the Integre managed to draw me to the music in a way that my 600 watter could not! I simply sat listening to familiar tracks. The Integre has a beautiful midrange and bass lines are easy to follow. The timbral accuracy of the Integre is excellent! Brass and horns simply shine, hi-hat and cymbals are failthfully reproduced and pianos and violins sound realistically real and true to life. How can such a small integrated sound so good and powerful, I asked!

I am now questioning whether the complications of pre/power, massive watts and huge amplifiers are really necessary to bring me musical enjoyment! The Integre forces me to forget about the system and to concentrate on the listening and the enjoyment. I wish I had realised this much sooner - it would have saved me tons, saved me time and heartaches and stopped me from the endless upgrade path which seems always to leave me dissatisfied and disappointed.

I now realise why Yves-Barnard Andre refers to his products as "Music Instruments". The YBA Integre DT is one of the most musically engaging SS amplifier that I have ever heard and partnered with the right gear, is outstanding.

Strengths:
Tibral accuracy, brings emotion to music, dynamic and more powerful than 50 watts would suggest, excels with micro details, realistic soundstage that is wide and quite deep! Brought out the bass from my Thiels! Small footprint, extremely well made. Layout is well thought. The tripods make isolation tweaking unnecessary. Should be left "ON" all the time. Integrated design means one less equipment on your rack - the preamp.

Weaknesses:
No remote. No HT bypass. Other than these trivial foibles, none that I can think of!

Similar Products Used:
McCormack, AudioNote (Oto, Soro, Meishu), CIAudio D*200 Monos, Sanders ESL 300, Audiolab 8000, Arcam Delta 290, Musical Fidelity A1, A2 and A1 (Final Edition), Onkyo midi system, Threshold Stasis, Krell 650 FBP (monos)

beken

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1800.00 from Vancouver

Summary:
I've had this unit for quite awhile now and have not found anything else I like that I would pay good money for that I can afford. I have augmented the bass with a small high quality subwoofer. The music comes out so clean, it does expose weaknesses in lesser quality speakers or source equipment. So you do need to match this unit up with high quality equipment. I blew out a fuse once due to a power surge during a lightning storm. The fuses are sand filled (!!!) and very expensive. Turned out a transistor got fried. I called YBA and they covered everything under warranty. They even claimed to have done a few minor updates to some of the components. HOWEVER, in my area, the local service center had just changed to somebody else and the new service center refused to service my amp. I had to send it to YBA directly myself. I did complain and got an apology from YBA. I listen to all kinds of music with this amp. Well recorded material, including pop an rock sound great. But the amp also exposes poorly recorded material for what they are.

Strengths:
Very high resolution without sounding harsh. Very enjoyable to listen to music through.

Weaknesses:
Exposes poorly recorded material. Also requires equivalent or better quality equipment in the rest of your system.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have had this Integrated amp for more than a year now, every time I audtion a new piece of gear I realize just how good this amp really is. Over the past year and a half I have auditioned quite a few source components and I am always amazed at how the yba integrated holds it ground and really becomes the strong link in my audio chain. It would be very easy to build a competent system around this amp, one which could easily withstand many upgrades in source and speaker upgrades and still not out grow its potental. I have had a few integrated amps which run very hot when pushed, I have yet to push this amp to any kind of overheating which leads me to believe that it is a very well designed amp which operates well within its limits. Rated at 50 watts I have never felt that it has run out of steam. Some people would consider the price of this amp to be excessive, however when you compare the parts quality , attention to detail and design philosphy then you realize you are getting quality and a piece of audio equipment with stlye and class. Cheers!

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from second hand

Summary:
this is the second integre dt that i''''ve owned; the first one threw a hissyfit and died. although i''''ve found the yba to have a smooth sound throughout the frequency spectrum, somehow there always seemed to be a glassy edge attached to the notes especialy on pop tunes. rockers can forget about the yba as an option; it''''s bass is weak, albiet accurate, and i''''ve found the whole bass/midrange areas to be thin sounding. coupled to suitable speakers, the treble regions were right on the money- reveiling yet natural. i''''ll give this int. 4 stars becouse it''''s obvious that it''''s a refined presentation, but like so many other products, it tends to dictate what styles of music it prefers. ultimately i''''m much happier with my exposure intigrated which possesses a more even balance,and more forceful bottom octave. oh; and also dont pass up the chance to audition a electrocompaniet eci-3, for this is a terrific integrated boasting a full, rich and refined sound, that''''s suitable for all music genres and basicaly crapps on the yba....sorry but its true.

Strengths:
smooth and refined presentation, good cosmetics and ample features.

Weaknesses:
an anorexic tonal balance that sounds horrid on rock, but quite good with classic/ chamber.

Similar Products Used:
exposure, rega, sonic fr., electrocompaniet.

Price Paid:  $2270.00 from 2002

Summary:
I will second all of the positive reviews I have read about this amp. After having home and store auditioned many, including Classe Cap 101/151, Rega, Musical Fidelity A3/A300, Creek 5350, Bryston B60 etc. I have now found an integrated amp that has all the finesse and power I need. This amp is truly a musical instrument. I have heard many criticisms about the bass. I may be crazy but I find that this amp has the tightest and most musically defined bass of all the integrateds that I have listened to. On bass heavy tracks such as ST. Geramin TOURIST or ARABIAN TRAVELS this little amp along with my two way standmount JMLabs shake the entire room at very loud levels. On clean bass tracks at normal listening levels such as Gary Peacock and Ralph Towner''s Oracle the bass notes have wonderful attack and tone. If I turn the volume up the bass player is in my living room. I do find that the bass becomes thin at very low listening levels, a sub would probably help here. My only caveat is the price. I was very fortunate to get a demo Delta model with remote for the price mentioned above in Canadian dollars, otherwise I do not think that I could have afforded it. All in all in my 6 month search for an integrated amp, this one is only one that not only does all the audiophile things like soundstage, transparency, dynamics, detail, but it manages to be an absolute joy to listen to on all types of music for very long hours. I have rediscovered why I wanted to be a musician many years ago. o

Strengths:
Everything except for....b

Weaknesses:
Price.

Similar Products Used:
Classe Cap 101/151, Rega, Musical Fidelity A3/A300, Creek 5350, Bryston B60 etc."