Audiophilepure

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“Next I brought out harder to drive speakers, namely my Ferrari red KEF LS50 bookshelf monitors. The TA-100 sounded fine, so I compared it with PS Audio’s newly revised Sprout integrated amp, which is now called the Sprout 100, it’s $599. With David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, the Sprout 100 was clearer, and the sound of each instrument was more fully formed than what I heard from the TA-100. That amp sounded somewhat flatter and more two-dimensional than the more expensive Sprout 100, I’ll review it soon.”

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“In fact, there’s not much wrong with the Auris Audio Fortino 6550. Yes, by comparison to the really large valve amplifiers from the usual suspects, it lacks some dynamic contrasts and cavernous bass, and compared to a good conrad-johnson integrated at a similar price, there is a foreshortening of contrast and ‘microdynamics’, but this might be gilding the lily. The flexibility of the Fortino (even if the remote control is at best perfunctory here) makes it win out over an amplifier that is essentually a passive pot with a power amp attached.””

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‘The T+A Elektroakustik PA 3100 HV is an integrated amplifier that entails none of the compromises usually associated with integrateds. First, the price is no compromise. At $23,500, the PA 3100 HV is one of the most expensive integrated amplifiers I’ve ever had in my system. Unless you’re coming from some really expensive separates, it’s not going to save you any cash — you could easily get a superb preamplifier and stereo power amplifier for the same money. You’re also going to need a separate DAC — unlike so many integrateds these days, the T+A doesn’t come with one. It’s also pretty big and heavy — owning one won’t save you much space.”

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“I noted the same difference with the Linn recording of Monteverdi’s Vespers 1610. Philip Hobbs has done his usual excellent job of capturing a natural-sounding balance of performers and performing space, and the M32 presented that space with a better sense of depth than the Luxman had managed. This was not what I’d expected, given that the combination of the Luxman and the PS Audio DAC costs $15,494, not including cables, and the NAD only $3999. But to send AES/EBU data to the NAD I was using the Meridian 518, which cost $1650 when last available. So I reverted to the long plastic TosLink connection from the M50.2. The sweetness of the M32’s mid-treble was slightly diminished, but other than a slight reduction in depth, the excellent soundstaging remained intact.”