So, I'm sorry to say that the above mentioned amp did not meet my expectations. I gave it about 10 hours of run-in time, which I'm sure some of you think is nothing like enough. Others might argue that you need some time to live with and get used to the sound of a new amplifier, and you may have a point. But what I heard was not what I was looking for.
The sound was maybe (no.... definitely) more detailed than my Marantz mcr603 but not really any more likeable and engaging. I'm sure that detailed sound would have grown as the amp burned in, but what struck me was that I wasn't getting more scale and a bigger sound stage or separation of instruments that I was hoping for. It's certainly a lovely looking piece of kit and is very well-designed but I get the impression that it's aimed at a lifestyle product kind of market. Maybe I was wrong to think that I would get a bigger sound, after all it's 35wpc into 8 ohms, but three or four reviews I read emphasised how it drove big speakers with ease. This could be the case with bigger higher sensitivity speakers but my Elacs are 85db at 6ohms.
So, the hunt goes on. Good connectivity is important and that front usb connection for ipod is still necessary as I still enjoy playing music off my old iPod classic. So I'm thinking of maybe going the other way size-wise and taking a look at the Onkyo tx-8150. This is a beast of a thing, but not an ugly one imo, with a definite whiff of old school! Although end of line only is available, this time I can audition so that's what I'm gonna do!
The sound was maybe (no.... definitely) more detailed than my Marantz mcr603 but not really any more likeable and engaging. I'm sure that detailed sound would have grown as the amp burned in, but what struck me was that I wasn't getting more scale and a bigger sound stage or separation of instruments that I was hoping for. It's certainly a lovely looking piece of kit and is very well-designed but I get the impression that it's aimed at a lifestyle product kind of market. Maybe I was wrong to think that I would get a bigger sound, after all it's 35wpc into 8 ohms, but three or four reviews I read emphasised how it drove big speakers with ease. This could be the case with bigger higher sensitivity speakers but my Elacs are 85db at 6ohms.
So, the hunt goes on. Good connectivity is important and that front usb connection for ipod is still necessary as I still enjoy playing music off my old iPod classic. So I'm thinking of maybe going the other way size-wise and taking a look at the Onkyo tx-8150. This is a beast of a thing, but not an ugly one imo, with a definite whiff of old school! Although end of line only is available, this time I can audition so that's what I'm gonna do!