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Review 1 of 2
Price Paid:
$1500.00
from galen carol audio Summary:
I'm four years down the road with this integrated amplifier. It pairs with a Musical Fidelity a3.2 CD player. They sounded lovely from the start, and remain lovely -- endless detail, a wide and deep soundstage, every detail audible, everything natural and nothing distorted. It doesn't hurt that they have in harness some Vandersteen 2ce signatures, of course.
I have hundreds of classical CDs, and I find myself thoroughly involved in each performance. My daugher, with her vast collection of indie (and almost altogether non-classical) music, loves these, too, and enjoys introducing me to her world.
Warning: a bad recording, even one you enjoyed on a lesser system, will sound very bad on this one. Oh, how I miss the Emerson Shostakovich quartet set. It came up acceptably on NAD equipment and lesser speakers, but not sounds harsh and unfocused. Even at that, the playing is so inspired that one can forgive and enjoy.
On the other hand, a good recording will come up splendidly. Experience, for example, Paul Lewis with his Beethoven piano sonatas, or Osmo Vanska and his Sibelius symhonies, or anything the Florestan Trio has done, or Arcadi Volodos playing Liszt, or the Arcanto Quartet with Bartok, or Fagiolini with some Monteverdi madrigals, or . . . well, there is no end to the great joy of it. Oh, and, by the way, the Emerson playing Beethoven or Haydn sounds just fine . . .
I use Kimber Kable interconnects and Audioquest cables. Nothing exotic, but it works nicely. Strengths:
great value
appealing build and appearance
reliability
magnificent sound Weaknesses:
umm . . .
I guess the fact that Musical Fidelity keeps introducing ever more exotic and expensive gear, and makes one think one should have more, and more, and endlessly more . . .
also, cheap power cords. Similar Products Used:
NAD and Nakamichi gear
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