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Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$50002.00
from Quintessence Audio Summary:
Well I guess I might as well be first here; Plinus sa 102!- is a very refined amp. Notice I say refined -what I mean by that statement is ALL plinius class A amps are; I beleive; quite musical and natural in the presentation or recreation of musical instruments. The better accoustical recordings, when done right, are simply hard to pull away when listening through this amplifier, almost intoxicating in the involvement between you and your favorite music.The term refined and what I mean by that as an owner of an SA100mk3, is theyre all somewhat similar in sound yet these amps still seem to improve ever so slightly from generation to generation. I think this amplifier is much more dynamic than earlier gen. and "they" were no slouches in this dept. its just a little tighter rhytmically and seems to run hotter in class "A" than earlier models. One thing when listening in class "A " is you must listen intently with no distractions[I even shut my fans off and throw the cat and dog outside]to audibly discern the differences between class A or AB, thats how good I believe this manufacturers product line to be. "Describe Differences" Well the main differences I here are subtle but DEFFINATLY theyre: and theres three areas that ive noted in my listening. 1:After about 45 minutes of class A switch being on the upper frequencies start to really smooth out, almost like butter, they[Plinius] are often compared to tube amps in this class a bias setting, the string tone is so smooth. Take your pick Mark Knopfler-Enveloping, Jerry Douglass on dobro steel guitar-Intoxicating, these are instruments that can be very sharp and grating ie. fatiguing to listen to if not done correctly, well this amp. can stun you with its reproduction of these performers and theyre instruments.Also that brings me to the second area the Midrange.#2 This is what I beleive sets Plinius apart from other solid state amplifiers, they put "MEAT ON DA BONES" And by that I mean this amp can Flesh out Horns and saxophones along with vocalists like nothing Ive heard. Yeah tubes have magic in them but listening to Sonny Rollins- or Miles Davis "Kind of Blue "the horn exchanges with Miles Davis on one side and John Coltrane on the other side: theyre horn tone distinctly seperate and unique in each artists presentation, it truly is like peering into that event done so long ago, yet striking in the realistic recreation of it in my home-truly lights out listening. Another artist is Bill Frisells "East West"disc especially the "West" disc 1 done directly to two track live at yoshis. If youre like me and care at all for contemporary jazz this ones a killer. The third and final area to me is #3- "Soundstage and Imaging dept." The plinius amplifier can in both settings "take you theyre" but in class A setting this amp rivals the best tube amps in my opinion. Depth takes on a 'knock the wall down effect" that you have to hear to believe ,even in nearfield listening I get a temendous sense of depth, and width sometimes hearing things so outside the box that I have to check my visual cues to confirm that audible info.and as always my plinius amp is correct.Example, Bob Segers cd "Live Bullet" with the silver bullet band track #6 Turn the page" about midway to three quarters through the song a saxsophone breaks out from what seems like
'"three rooms over on my right"
' so realistic and dynamic in its arrival I damb near went to inspect!!Truly holograpic listening at its best, if your into recreating the soundspace in your home these amps can help provide that. Also Pink Floyd; really anything Floyd, but two in particular Animals with theyre subtle sound of dogs barking take on an almost eery feeling with realistic placement and jetblack backgrounds.The other being the "Pulse" live cd really a huge sounding disc with all Pink Floyds on stage energy coming into my room,huge kickdrums; female backup vocalists errily present , ambient spatial cues abound...This really is one LOW NOISEFLOOR of an amplifier helping bring all information both micro and macro as well as acompanying dynamics to the fore that along with its imaging and soundstaging capabilities make this in my humble opinion the BEST overall audio amplifier value on the planet. Punching way above its weight class, 5000 dollars is alot of money but this products actually worth more in my opinion. So I added another 102 in dual mono along with a p-8 for center channel power and my SA100 mk3 on surrounds in a dedicated 2-channel/hometheatre with theyre m-8 preamp. All products purhased new with unbeatable SEVEN year warrenty. Yes I vote with my wallet and put in a solid vote for PLINIUS/ ROCK ON BOYS DOWN UNDER... Other products auditioned against; Krell 400cx/ksa 250 Levinson 334/335 almost bit till I heard above Pass Labs x 250 Accuphase Arragon/Bryston ect. Strengths:
everything! absolutly everything!! Never have to concern myself again with that nagging question, Will it drive these, does it have enough power, is it a musical amplifier ect,// panels apogees, maggies, logans, sound lab stats, get in line. pretty much handle anything and do it well... Weaknesses:
only if you listen to 2 or 3 watt SETs...AHEMM/NOTHING... Similar Products Used:
various
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