Audiophilepure

https://www.hifichoice.com/content/anthem-str-integrated-amplifier

Anthem’s STR Integrated Amplifier is generous yet refreshingly understated. It does exactly what you want, combining plenty of power and connectivity with a completely even-handed and neutral performance. Phono inputs are excellent and the DAC is extremely natural. Straight out of the box it sounds like a pedigree performer, but dive into the advanced Anthem Room Correction measurement and adjustment and you can fine tune the sound qualities to exactly fit your listening space. Anthem’s deft touch on improving real-world listening is seriously impressive and although I thoroughly enjoy playing with the DSP sophistication, make no mistake, the beating heart of this amp is its superb analogue signal handling.

Nonetheless, the linearity of the Boulder and its prowess in the bass region should not be underestimated. This came home to me in listening to the 45-rpm reissue of the South African musician Hugh Masekela’s “Stimela,” which is probably one of the most overplayed cuts at audio shows, but, heck, I like it. And it reveals a lot. What it revealed to me in this instance was the profound bass definition that the 508 delivers. The drum crescendos in “Stimela” were cleanly defined and propulsively powerful. I also noticed how clearly the 508 captured not only the huskiness of Masekela’s voice, but also how beautifully it rendered his enunciation of the song’s lyrics. It was as though they were etched in stone. Ditto for his playing on the flugelhorn. The way Masekela soared into the treble region, then issued plaintive wails was profoundly moving to listen to on my system. Boulder often gets knocked for delivering a sterile sound, but it’s a bum rap. This went right to the emotional essence of the music. Ditto for a Sackville label recording that I recently acquired called Three Is Company that features the jazz soprano saxophonist Jim Galloway, a remarkable musician who teamed up with the pianist Dick Wellstood for this album. This is traditional straight-ahead jazz and on lively numbers like “Minor Drag,” the 508 viscerally delivered the fast-paced excitement of the music. The 508 nailed the sometimes nasally and keening quality of Galloway’s soprano sax, while Pete Magadini serenely mans the drums, gently accompanying his peers.

To sum up, I am very impressed with the performance of the Legacy i∙V7 Class D seven-channel power amplifier. Its efficiency allows the amplifier to output very high wattage in several channels at the same time without blowing a wall socket fuse. You would not be outputting 600 watts in all seven channels for more than a fraction of a second during dynamic peaks. Distortion is well controlled.

I think this technology is the future for surround sound amplifiers. If I were setting up a new home theater surround sound system, I would get this amplifier without hesitation. I would use it for the center channel and all the surround channels, including two height channels in the front. I would use a Class A or Class A/B amplifier for the front left and right channels since I would be using those channels for listening to stereo music.

.

As usual I let the amps run in the back ground for a week to let them gel with my system. I do this with every single piece of gear to make sure it is well burned in, has at least a reasonable symbiosis with the rest of my gear, and to decide which of my speakers is best to utilize during the serious listening and critical reviewing period.

After a week or so everything seemed to gel in just fine, and I stayed with the VR4s for the review. I did run the Sonists a bit just for thrills, and overall it was a good match, but since they only plumb down to 40Hz, those hours were not logged for the review, but the AGD Audions would do well in a system with 95dB sensitivity if my experience was anything to go by.

Norma HS-IPA1 integrated amplifier

The Norma HS-IPA combines more functions than most in its compact frame, I don’t think that there are many alternatives that offer the same now that the majority concentrate on digital features. And not many of them have the sort of power that this does. In this light it’s ergonomic foibles can be forgiven, they are essentially a matter of familiarity really and that comes pretty quickly. Partnered with the right speaker this is a very capable and entertaining amplifier especially for those with a decent turntable and cartridge. 

Lights abound, whether you like them or not… In addition to the white-lighted “Black Ice Audio” script on the amplifier’s front panel, and the lighted Black Ice logo on the same panel (that doubles as the on/standby switch), an additional pilot light is placed atop the transformer cover box. Even in standby mode, the on/off logo, pilot light, and “Black Ice Audio” logo remains lit. I find this distracting when the amp is not even playing and wish these lights were defeatable, but many won’t care. As delivered, the only way to turn off all amplifier lighting is to use the on/off switch on the back of the amplifier that may be less than readily accessible in some equipment racks.