estreeter
Super Member
OK - I know the level of skepticism re magazine reviews on AK, and I share some of that same skepticism, but how many reviews have you seen of this amp ? How many sets of independent measurements ? My tally just went up by one of each 
Right, now that we've established that what I have in front of me is a fairly rare review at this point in time, let's cut to the chase : the Australian RRP on this amp will put it in with some high-end amps that most of us can only dream of owning. Not trying to turn this into a class war, but even at 90 cents US to the AUD, this would still have a sticker price over 8K USD - ouch.
If you can climb over that, and accept that this is a statement component from a company with a very long history in 2-channel audio, these were the only real 'minuses' the reviewer could identify:
- size and weight (for AKers, I'm guessing that's a PLUS)
- complex remote
Everything else - measurements, bass response, mids 'to die for' etc etc - was pretty much what I would expect from an amp in that sort of company (Mac, Naim separates, Ayre and a host of high-end tube amps). I'm not going to rob anyone of the chance to sell a magazine they've obviously worked very hard to put together, but we all know what a favorable review looks like and this one is very favorable. I'm not sure that I would put my name to the claim that 'this amp will drive any pair of loudspeakers on the market', but the editor has done precisely that - given that I've never heard a pair of Wilson Alexia and he had them hooked up to the Yamaha, I'm guessing it wasn't a claim idly made.
He reviewed the amp with Yamaha's matching CDP - clearly, anyone looking to buy into an amp at this price point will have partnering gear at a similar level, if not quite as stratospherically priced as the Wilson speakers. Personally, I would love to hear a combination like that, regardless of how well my reality matches the reviewers prose, and in sheer aesthetic terms this amp looks an absolute treat. Now, where did I put that Lotto form ?
Right, now that we've established that what I have in front of me is a fairly rare review at this point in time, let's cut to the chase : the Australian RRP on this amp will put it in with some high-end amps that most of us can only dream of owning. Not trying to turn this into a class war, but even at 90 cents US to the AUD, this would still have a sticker price over 8K USD - ouch.
If you can climb over that, and accept that this is a statement component from a company with a very long history in 2-channel audio, these were the only real 'minuses' the reviewer could identify:
- size and weight (for AKers, I'm guessing that's a PLUS)
- complex remote
Everything else - measurements, bass response, mids 'to die for' etc etc - was pretty much what I would expect from an amp in that sort of company (Mac, Naim separates, Ayre and a host of high-end tube amps). I'm not going to rob anyone of the chance to sell a magazine they've obviously worked very hard to put together, but we all know what a favorable review looks like and this one is very favorable. I'm not sure that I would put my name to the claim that 'this amp will drive any pair of loudspeakers on the market', but the editor has done precisely that - given that I've never heard a pair of Wilson Alexia and he had them hooked up to the Yamaha, I'm guessing it wasn't a claim idly made.
He reviewed the amp with Yamaha's matching CDP - clearly, anyone looking to buy into an amp at this price point will have partnering gear at a similar level, if not quite as stratospherically priced as the Wilson speakers. Personally, I would love to hear a combination like that, regardless of how well my reality matches the reviewers prose, and in sheer aesthetic terms this amp looks an absolute treat. Now, where did I put that Lotto form ?
