General Asylum: REVIEW: Musical Fidelity A3CR Amplifier (SS) by edta

Clarity, depth and focus are great with this little amp. I'm hearing things in old CDs I had no clue to before. Listener fatigue is low, I can listen for hours and not want to quit. Can now more easily distinguish individual voices and lyrics too in classical choral works. Hearing "produced" works like Abba and Procol Harum in a new way. Has a lifelike quality I've not experienced before with any other amp (used with its companion A3CR preamp). Not sweet, exactly, but extremely accurate. I have never been able to distinguish individual instruments as easily as with this amp. The room echoes of voices and buzzing of piano strings are right here. The burr on the brass and metallic ting of the cymbals, even the depth, resonance and overtones of the piano are there. Violin sections actually sound like individual violins, ditto for cellos and basses, amazing!

Is there any downside? Alas, there is. The amp is not a powerhouse. It really is not enough for my PSB Strat Gold's. Big orchestral crescendos sound a bit strained at levels I'm used to. This not apparent with most pop or jazz, but stuff like "Bridge Over Troubled Water" could be better. Build quality is pretty good, but not up to say, a Bryston. And I'm wondering how long the on and off switches will last. The warranty is only 2 years. Another drawback is that it sounds poor right out of the box. You need a good two weeks of playing it for it to "emerge".

Final judgement is still out. I'm waiting for another A3power amp to try bi-amping. This is amp is so good, it's worth trying.

REVIEW: Musical Fidelity A3CR Amplifier (SS) Review by edta at Audio Asylum