Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/boulder-11101160-prepower-amplifier

Play Iiro Rantala’s take on ‘Caravan’, from My History Of Jazz [ACT 9531-2], and the dense mix is punctuated, illuminated even, by the attack of the violin pushing the instruments forward, sounding large and confident. Stick with jazz and another favourite tester, the Espen Eriksen Trio’s ‘In The Mountains’, from Never Ending January [Rune Grammofon RCD 2173], and the sound is initially slightly claustrophobic, the opening drums deep and ponderous, before Eriksen’s spritely piano brings light to the scene and, once again, the ‘big picture’ is revealed.

Without doubt, what the Boulder 1110/1160 does well, it does very well indeed. Even with orchestral works such as the testing, but superbly recorded and mastered, Britten ‘Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra’ [Reference Recordings RR-120SACD] there’s just no denying the sense of orchestral scale and weight on offer.

The 1160 is a big amplifier that begs for big loudspeakers. So, yes, in tandem this amplifier combination is insightful almost to the point of being idiosyncratic at times. But if you like the way they do what they do, and have a penchant for playing your music at adventurous levels, chances are you’ll love them.

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/cambridge-audio-cxa61

It has a nicely judged tonal balance that walks that delicate path between attack and refinement. This is the kind of presentation that works well across a wide range of speakers and musical genres. There’s spaciousness here too, and the kind of outright clarity that sets a high bar for the price.

Stereo imaging is impressive, with the amp able to place sounds and instruments with precision and stability. It’s an expansive soundfield and one that’s nicely layered, provided the rest of your system is suitably talented.

Once we spend a decent amount of time listening, it becomes clear that few rivals have the resolution to challenge the CXA61. It digs up low level details with ease and renders them with care and conviction. 

This is made clear when we listen to the Olafur Arnalds set, which relies on the system having a high degree of subtlety. It’s easy for an amplifier to sound ham-fisted when playing this recording, but it’s a trap that the Cambridge avoids. Instead it is confident and composed, but never overplays its hand.Advertisementhttps://62e056be616e9b676d217e573805e5a9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

This Cambridge is a rhythmic performer too, delivering Prince’s 3121 with verve. There’s plenty of entertainment to be had here from thumping basslines to intricately shifting rhythms with Prince’s distinctive vocals at the centre. The CXA61 ticks all the hi-fi boxes without forgetting that all the detail and tonal neutrality in the world doesn’t matter if the emotional content of the music is ignored.

Norma Audio Revo IPA-140 Integrated Amplifier

The audio industry is broadly divided into two main camps; ‘change for change’s sake’ companies that revise every product in their line-ups on a regular basis, and ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ brands who keep their products developmentally frozen for years. Norma is one of the rare exceptions, that keeps making ever better products, but doesn’t shout about it. Looking back on our review from 90 issues ago, Norma didn’t reinvent the wheel here and the sound of the Revo IPA-140 is tonally unchanged, but it builds on its strengths and strips back on its few vices still further. In other words, it’s every bit as damn good as it ever was; “if it ain’t broke, make it better!” This integrated amplifier is one of the audio world’s best-kept secrets. 

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/rotel-ra-1572mkii-integrated-amplifier-review

And that brings me to the Rotel’s streaming features, which are limited to USB-audio (excellent, but of limited flexibility) and Bluetooth (meh). An obvious advantage would be built-in wired/wireless audio streaming such as many integrated amplifiers of similar cost already include, or a standalone network music player sitting on the shelf next to the RA-1572MKII, though Rotel does not offer one. The absence of both Wi-Fi and Airplay, which Roon among many other popular music-player/integrator/distribution applications employs as a pathway of last resort along with Chromecast built-in, only exacerbates this lack. And while the snootier level of audio snobs may scoff at Apple’s AirPlay as being “only” CD-quality-capable, in my experience it works just fine for serious listening. But to be clear, the RA-1572 MKII is certified as Roon Tested, and it worked flawlessly with Roon in my system via its USB input.