Right ok had 2 days with this lovely amp of mine the abrahamsen 2up I got it Thursday morning it came well packed and I got it safely without any issues . Bulld quality is amazing with the 2up it's well made nothing plastic on this amp it's all metal construction with 2 brass nobs for volume + input selection , led display in a light blue easy to read display , remote control is very 1970s feel to it all metal finish the bonus was that it works the controls of the marantz CD player which was a bonus for me as I do not have to use 2 remotes only the one . It's a very heavy amp 16kg the back of the amp you have your normal connections for CD player options are balanced inputs XLR or for phono's RCA you can use unbalanced which for me at this time is Aux input useing phono's the rest of the inputs are DVD input not sure why that's on there and some others that I can not think off . Speaker binding post are made out of gold very high quality there are 2 only for the L+R channels there is an input for home cinema I am not sure if this are pre -outs or not ?
Sound quality is amazing over the marantz and not saying that the marantz was rubbish or it did a bad job because it's a lovely amp which I will be keeping . The abrahamsen was worth getting I did take a little bit of a risk on buying this amp without demoing first which is important to do so kind of went on gut feeling which did payoff for me The soundstage is very open a lot more then the marantz the sound is very clean and warm not clinical which I hate . you can pickup detail on a songs which I have not picked up before and I no the songs in side out . Guitar stings being plucked , symbols crashes were you can hear the after affects of the crash on the symbols this was the kind of level of detail I was looking for fine detail which even though the marantz is good it could not match that kind of detail . Music separation amazing you hear the instruments separately they are not all blended together like they are with the marantz vocals and instruments have separation with the abrahamsen . Bass is well controlled , fast deep when it needs to be it's like you getting 3 kinds of bass heavy bass , light bass , vocalists bass but separate when the song calls for anyone one this kinds of basses or all 3 but controlled . I found that the treble end on my speakers are more open high sounding like the singer is 6ft but used to be 5ft singer with the marantz
Pros
Good bulld quality , very clean and natural sound of instruments , great instrument separation , very detailed , great sound stage , warm sounding , a sound that is not tiring remote control works the functions of the marantz CD player
Cons
No phono stage , no tone controls , you can not bi wire if you wanted too as there are only 1 set of speaker posts , if your useing phono's for the CD player then your input choice is Aux , DVD , tuner inputs so you will have this on the display even though your useing cd , no co- axe , optical inputs unless you have a CD player with balanced inputs then you can use the proper input for the CD player then the display will read cd
Was it worth buying yes well worth £899 was it a side ways move no way the abrahamsen amp is in a different class from the marantz and I class it as a good and proper upgrade and recommend one to anyone who's thinking of buying one
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