(2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
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- Parent Category: 2013 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
Price: $999
Website: www.arcam.co.uk
Hans said: Arcam’s FMJ A19 is a mature, highly accomplished integrated amplifier. Everything it does it does well, and I know of no other company that makes a product that can compete in overall sound quality and functionality for $999.
Read the SoundStage! Access review.
The gist: Unassuming on the outside, solid Arcam design on the inside.
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- Parent Category: 2013 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
Price: $2995
Website: www.belcantodesign.com
Sathyan said: In the e.One C7R receiver, Bel Canto Design has assembled a wide range of good-sounding possibilities into a compact and seamlessly integrated package.
Read the SoundStage! Access review.
The gist: Highly functional and no surround sound!
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- Parent Category: 2013 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
Price: $4695
Website: www.bryston.com
Philip said: With the B135 SST2, Bryston has succeeded in setting a new standard for the level of performance that can be expected at this price. You’ll have to spend significantly more to improve on the B135’s sound, and even so, those improvements are likely to be small. On these grounds -- and because it sounds so darn good -- Bryston’s B135 SST2 gets my highest recommendation.
Read the SoundStage! Hi-Fi review.
The gist: Bread-and-butter integrated amp that really floated Philip’s boat.
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- Parent Category: 2013 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
Price: $12,000
Website: www.focusaudio.com
Jason said: I’d wager that, in the next few decades, audio enthusiasts will look back at this clean, elegantly designed, beautifully made amplifier as a classic of the early 21st century.
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The gist: A speaker company makes a great amp.
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- Parent Category: 2013 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
Price: $9750
Website: www.kraudio.com
Vade said: The VA340 Mk.II integrated amplifier was one of the best-sounding amplifiers I’ve heard in my system. Powerful yet delicate, it had a complex tonal palette and that legendary SET palpability. It doesn’t have a lot of features, but it has the ones that matter most.
The gist: Beefy-sounding tube integrated from the Czech Republic.
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- Parent Category: 2013 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
Price: $2599
Website: www.nadelectronics.com
Colin said: It’s likely the most sophisticated amplifier available at its price. In this ever-changing world, sophistication and modularity are good things, and the C 390DD offers both. That it’s also a superb music-reproduction device and sounds invisible is a major achievement, and, at its price, a phenomenal one.
Read the SoundStage! Hi-Fi review.
The gist: Much more than just an integrated amp with a built-in DAC.
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- Parent Category: 2013 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
Price: $549
Website: www.nuforce.com
Roger said: At only $549, the NuForce DDA-100 sets a new standard for performance in an affordably priced integrated amplifier.
Read the SoundStage! Hi-Fi review.
The gist: The entryway into high-end amplification.
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- Parent Category: 2013 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2013) Stereo Integrated Amplifiers and Receivers
Price: $7000
Website: www.octave.de
Vade said: It’s quiet, and easy to set up, use, and maintain. It portrays music with great transparency, letting you appreciate the musicians’ intent and phrasing. Its ability to use a wide variety of power-output tubes adds flexibility for those who want to experiment with the different sounds of different tubes. Its sound equaled or surpassed that of a highly regarded amplifier and line stage costing more than twice as much, and it produced enough power to drive a wide variety of speakers.
Read the SoundStage! Ultra review.
The gist: Flexible performance from this tube-based German machine.