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REVIEW: Dussun V-8i Integrated Amplifier (SS)

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Model: V-8i
Category: Integrated Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price: $2995
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier
Manufacturer URL: Not Available
Manufacturer URL: Not Available

Review by Quint ( A ) on May 19, 2006 at 11:12:01
IP Address: 205.188.116.132
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for the V-8i


When China and high-end audio are mentioned in the same sentence, the number of reactions this elicits is staggering: everything from “I don’t buy anything from Commies and human-rights abusers” to “These guys can make some really good stuff.” Me, I lean toward the latter. In the last few years, both at people’s homes and at various shows, I’ve encountered a number of excellent Chinese manufacturers who make truly world-class (or damn close) products. The name that sticks most in my mind is Usher, but there are many, many others.

Political objections are natural, but, in my mind, the number of great audio products emerging from China is undeniable. And that’s a good thing for us audiophiles. I’ve found that Chinese gear offers the highest-value performance out there. The days of “Everything from China is junk” accusations are over, probably for good. Anyone who still believes this is hopelessly misguided.

Which leads me, in a roundabout way, to my review of the new Dussun V-8i integrated amp. Dussun is a name new to me, but apparently they make a variety of products. I’m just familiar with their integrated amps, of which the V-8i is the flagship.

The use of the designation “V-8” in the name is quite appropriate. This is the Boss 429 or 426 Hemi of integrated amps—at least in my experience. Weighing in at an absolutely ridiculous (for an integrated) 92 pounds, the V-8i is a powerhouse through and through. Rated at a conservative 250 wpc, it drips quality construction. The fit-and-finish is positively drool-worthy. The V-8i largely eschews bells and whistles, instead opting for a front panel consisting of five input selectors, a power button, and a beefy volume control. The rear panel is similarly clean. I didn’t open the amp, but I have it on information from an engineer friend of mine that the internal layout would put many American and European manufacturers to shame. Judging from the exterior build, I don’t doubt it.

As great as the build quality is, the amp’s sonic performance is even better. The V-8i produces music with an ease and weight that I’ve only heard from better separates. The word “authority” comes immediately to mind. Every disc I played was reproduced with a sense of forceful ease that my previous reference integrated, the double-the-price Rowland Concerto, couldn’t come close to matching. As I already said, the V-8i is rated at 250 wpc, but I think that figure is way conservative. The Rowland in also 250 wpc, but the difference in power and dynamic authority was stunning. The Dussun simply had way more of it. It was also the Rowland’s superior in terms of resolution; this probably has a lot to do with the quality of the massive power supply. I was under the impression that digital amps usually had the advantage in background silence, and therefore resolution, over purely analog amps, but no more. The Dussun has permanently changed my mind on the subject.

I haven’t heard every integrated amp out there, but I have heard more than a few—including a number in my second system—and I think the Dussun V-8i belongs in the highest-most tier. The amount of performance that Dussun has extracted from a $3,000 integrated amp is mind-boggling. I believe that it could proudly hold its head in a system in which the other components each cost many multiples of its price. It’s that good.

Judging from my experience with Usher speakers, I knew that China was capable of producing world-class gear of very high value, but the Dussun V-8i has hammered that lesson home with the force of a locomotive. I can’t stop listening to my second rig, something I couldn’t say before the insertion of the V-8i. This thing is the real deal. If it’s any indication of the quality of Dussun’s (and China’s) other products, European and American manufacturers should be quaking in their boots.


Product Weakness: Weight
Product Strengths: Ease, ease, and more ease. Crushing dynamic power, but not at the expense of finesse


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: JRDG Concerto
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): none
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Modwright-modded Denon 3910
Speakers: Von Schweikert VR-4 HSE
Cables/Interconnects: Jena Labs
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Pop/rock
Room Size (LxWxH): 24 x 20 x 7
Room Comments/Treatments: Nucore Technologies, Echobuster
Time Period/Length of Audition: One week
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Jena Labs
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Dussun V-8i Integrated Amplifier (SS) - Quint 11:12:01 05/19/06 ( 9)