reliability, simplicity of design, CD direct input, fast and open sound, high performance to price ratio.

exterior casework is slightly "rattley" on top.
one of the support feet on bottom of unit was shorter than the others.

I plan to keep this amp for a very long time. The faceplate looks great and the amp is on the thin side, which helps with placement. It is a dual mono design and the 100 watts per channel seems to drive my Meadowlark Kestrels
beautifully. The sound is very fast and bass is very solid.
I can enjoy listening to it for hours on end.
I have the amp on 4 sorbothane footers. I also chose to place a freezer bag with sand in it on top of the amp and feel that this tightened up the sound nicely. (Maybe it sounds silly but I swear that it works and it's a cheap tweak to boot!)
I compared it to the IA170 and the bass is tighter,and the mids seem more open. The remote is kind of cheap but it works well so far. It is definitely worth the
$1,000.00 I paid for it. I recommend it to anyone looking for a small, reliable, and fast sounding amplifier in this price range.

Associated equipment:
VPI HW19JR
CAL ICON MKII
MEADOWLARK KESTRELS
MUSICAL FIDELITY X-CANS
SENNHEISER HD600 HEADPHONES
LAT INTERNATIONAL POWER CORDS AND INTERCONNECTS
KIMBER CABLE 4TC SPEAKER CABLE
SALAMANDER STAND

Similar Products Used:

demo of Magnum IA170