General Asylum: REVIEW: Musical Fidelity A300 Integrated Amplifier (SS) by Paul S.

It's been a month now, and I'm loving what the A300 does (or doesn't do) to music. But first a few words about how I got there. I'd spent a few years mulling over the replacement of my aging Adcom 545 amp and 400 pre/tuner and had come to the conclusion that I' d need to spend 2-3K to get the quality and improvement I could live with. While ther were a number of separates to consider, eg. Bryston, Classe, Adcom, B&K, Thule, etc. I kept coming back to considering a high quality integrated-which seem to fall into two classes in the price range I was buying in--lower and higher wattage types. In the lower watt category (and yes I know it's the quality of the watts and not how many) there were some fine units: YBA Integre, Audio refinement complete, Audio Analogue Puccini, Bryston B-60 and the Sim Moon I-5. As good as they are, I needed/wanted more power (my speakers-Infinity Renaissance 90s, recommend 75-400 watts).

So, then there are the higher wattage units: Krell, Classe, and Plinius. I'd thought seriously about the Plinius but was unable to demo it. Then came the A300, a $2400 unit in England seeling for $1500 in the USA through Audio Advisor(gives you an idea of dealer mark-up). So I had a unit sent to me and it's not going back. It just makes beautiful music-clear, detailed, and with a deep soundstage. And, perhaps most of all, instruments sound like they are supposed to -musical fidelity. I often find myself unable to read while listening because I keep having to look up and become absorbed in the music. Also, the phono stage is excellent.

Even if the Plinius, or some of the separates in the 3K range are better (and I wouldn't bet on it), they wouldn't be worth twice the money, at least to me. A great deal on a great amp and 30 days to demo.

REVIEW: Musical Fidelity A300 Integrated Amplifier (SS) Review by Paul S. at Audio Asylum