warm smooth sound, yet retains detail

takes some warming up, but when it's warm it's great

I listened to this piece for the first time next to a parasound HCA-100a with an acurus rl-11 preamp. The Parasound was nice, but the acurus was music. Once it warms up, (or possibly my ears start listening properly) it improves to a level of quality I've not heard in my listening to any amps under $950 monoblocks. It retains detail and texture, but also has great punch and is warm and smooth to boot. This is a combination few amps posess. The parasound was detailed and puchy, but the top end was screechy next to the smooth cymbals the Acurus put out. Only tubes are smooth and warm like this, and they sacrifice detail compared to this refined little beauty. Of special note-This amp only ways ninenteen pounds, but that is because it has no heatsinks. It's power supply has great capacitance, and runs cooler than any amp I've ever seen.

Similar Products Used:

Parasound HCA-1000a

Nice balanced natural sound, not overbassed. It sounds just like I like it, and does not get harsh when played loud. Seems to work well with everything from classical to electronic, to rock which is especially nice. It is also a nice size, and goes against the usual heavier is better. It runs very cool, which is again surprising. It is on a part of the price curve where it is a little more than entry level amps, but is noticeably better.

None.

I have the Acurus A100 hooked up to Klipsh Kg2 2-way speakers using monster type wire, and have the Acurus RC-11 pre-amp (which is also very nice). The CD-Player and tape player are pretty standard fare (Pioneer and Akai respectively). I have hooked up a number of amps to this setup, and found the Acurus is the nicest sounding. I hooked up a friend's NAD (714 I think) and that was also very nice sounding and surprisingly powerful, and had a nice warm sound to it. I have used a mid 80's Denon receiver (DRA-35V) with the setup for most of its life. I like the sound at low and moderate volumes (where I typically listen), but it is admittedly a little harsh, and runs out of power at loud levels. I have also tried a couple pro-logic amps with this setup, but was not really impressed. I disliked the Onkyo prologic amp, there was something missing in the music.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Nakamichi, Onkyo, NAD

Build construction. Good sound. Cool running.

None I can see or hear.

I use this with the RL11. It is not the most expensive amp, but for the price, it's performance is superb. Very detailed, smooth sound. Good tight bass. Lotsa audiofreak terms could be used. It construction is solid. It is fairly lightweight...pounds wise. I don't play music really loud, so 100w is more than enough for me.
It drives Vandersteen 2ce Signatures fine. Straightwire Quartet speaker cable biwired is adequate for me....sounds great. It seems to be very influenced by what cable is used between it (A100) and the preamp, RL11. I was using Straightwire Chorus. Put in Straightwire Symphony II, just a slight step up ($53 vs $40, and that ain't much!), and the sound improved dramatically. Much better midrange and detail. Go figure.

Nice amp. Recommended. For its value and sound, I give it 5 stars.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel. Dynaco. Onkyo.

Power, price.

Velied sound, poor highs.

May be a good entry amp for those who don't want to wipe out their walets. Compared to the Counterponit and the Bryston the Acurus is a dark sounding amp with shy highs and midband. I hear it driving Celestion 300 and Totem M-1, and in both cases the sound was disapointing.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston 3B-ST, Counterpoint NPS-100

Clean and powerful.

Great amp. Very clean and powerful. This amp is a little smoother sounding than the A150 but the diferences are almost unheard. Good amp with a good price from a company who knows how to make amps.

Similar Products Used:

Aragon 8008BB

Not the most elegant sounding, but it is a nice, clean amp with a lot of energy and depth.

Listened recently while comparing amps for a pair of Vanderstein 2ce sigs. I didn't think the amp was overly impressive. The price is appealling and admittedly I was running it against the McCormack .5 which costs twice as much

This amp (originally paired with an old carver pre-amp) was my first departure from a receiver based system. The difference was phenomenal! There was so much more to the music than I had experienced before. More detail, more bass, more smoothness, more and better everything. Almost a year later and several other component upgrades, I am still very pleased with this amp. When I was shopping I compared it to similar Adcom, Arcam, B&K, and Rotel products mainly. Each was a little different, but the A100 was the best of the group in my opinion. It definitely had the most slam of the group, and yet it wasn't any less refined than the others either really. I especially like female vocals and acoustic music, and this amp does both very well. Very detailed and smooth in all ranges. The Acurus sounded more similiar to the expensive amps in the showrooms (ie-Mark Levinson or Krell) than the others did. If you want to talk about capacitance, this amp continues to produce sound for 10-20 seconds after it is switched off, talk about reserve power! I didn't listen to everything because not everything is available in ST. Louis. But in its price range I would say the acurus is right at the top. It a VERY good amp, definitely 5 stars (especially if you consider the price), it is one of those rare values where you actually get a whole lot for your money.

My system:
Arcam Alpha 7
Aragon 18k
Acurus A100
Paradigm Mini-monitors

I use the A100 in conjunction with the Acurus RL11 pre-amp and Cambridge Audio CD-4SE cd player. The interconnects are Straightwire Encore II. My speakers are decidedly low-end Cerwin Vega VS120s - I plan to remedy that soon! The combination sounds great despite the speakers - plenty of detail, smooth, musical and involving. It handles vocals very well.On jazz recordings, the upright bass and snares sound eerily realistic. There is some sibilance in the highs but that is probably caused by the speakers.
I find the sound much smoother than comparable Adcom offerings.
Very good build quality.
Highly recommended as a step up from mass market gear. Conservatively, 4 stars!
I hear that the NHT 2.5i is a good match for these speakers - at any rate that's what I plan to get!

P.S. It seems almost impossible to find a used A100 - that either means theren't many of these out there OR people don't like parting with them. I heard the latter sentiment quite a bit from the dozens of dealers I called. I tend to agree - it will be a while before I part with mine.

Nice sound.Good overall performance.