it worked

bad on low impedance speakers/HUM/speakers whistled when amp was powering down after shutoff.

After buying a Citation 7.0 processor I decided to upgrade my Sony amps. I sold them and bought (4)
Acurus A-150's. After hooking these up to my system I suffered from loud HUM,and a loud whistle from my speakers (Infinity RS8 Kappa's)that I never had with the Sony amps. Not to mention the Sony's had a mich better bottom end in depth and bass definition.
After a year of trying different solutions to the problem...cheater plugs...power conditioners,I decided to sell (3) of the Acurus amps and buy a Classe CAV-75 for my surrounds and still use the A-150 for my main speakers.
After getting the Classe CAV-75,I found that the 75w/ch Classe drove my Kappa's with ease so the A-150 was shifted to the rear surrounds until I could afford a Classe CA-200 for the main's...oh the surrounds hummed with the Acurus also.
Finaly got the CA-200 and have been in heaven since...no hum...just great sound. Sorry to say,even the Sony amp was better then the Acurus.

present system:
Elite DVL-91 DVD/LD
Muse model 5 CD Transport
Lexicon MC-1 Processor
Classe CA-200/CAV-75 Amps
Dunlavy SC-IV & SC-I/AV Speakers
REL Stadium III Subwoofer

Similar Products Used:

Sony TA-N55ES/Classe CA-200/Bryston 4B-ST

The A-150 is a great amp for the $$$. Mine sounds great. A lot ofmuscle for $700! It runs cool and is dead quiet. Soundstage and air is very
good. The mids could bloom a little more but I'm gonna cure that with a nice
C-J tube preamp when finances permit. True hi-end sound and build quality at
a more than reasonable price...
System: CAL audio Sigma TubeDac & Delta Transport
Acurus RL-11 preamp (The C-J PV12aL replaces this A.S.A.P.)
Acurus A-150 pwr amp
Snell Type D spkrs; Velodyne F-1200 subwoofer
MIT Reference Digital link
MITerminator 2 interconnects
MITerminator 2 BiWire spkr cable (10')

I have owned the Acurus A150 for 4 years now and would have to spend 2k to find a better amp (maybe a used Aragon, Coda or Threshold). I am very glad that I did not buy the A250 it sounded too boomy. I have abused this poor little amp and its still kicking.....
My overall system is comprised of:

Amp - Acurus A150
Passive Pre-Amp - Luminous Audio Technology
Tape Deck - Harmon Kardon CD391
MiniDisc - Sony JA3ES
Speakers - Vandersteen Model 4
CD Player - Still looking for one??????

I was lucky enough to find this amp used for half the price of the new model. Even at the new price this is an incredible value. Mids are smooth and, and acoustics are rendered with remarkable detail. Bass is strong in quality and generous in quantity. The deep bass notes of James Horner's "Titanic" soundtrack are incredible though this amp, being felt more than heard. The huge imput impedance of this amp also makes it cake to drive with lower output pre-amps. Even my relatively inexpensive Rotel sounds great with this amp.
There are some minor problems with this amp though. Upon receipt of this amp I noticed alot of transformer hum, though this was solved by tighnening the nut on top of the torroidal transformer, and is no longer a problem. Owners of this amp who experience this problem should try this simple, effective fix (Randy, you may want to try this as well). The amp also picks up alot of electrical noise from the ground plug. I have a halogen pole lamp which I have to turn off when listening because of the hum it causes. Oh well, listening in the dark is better anyways.

All in all this is a terrific amp for the money. Highly recomended.

Source: Marantz CC-67 with Music Fidelity X-10D buffer
Preamp: Rotel Surround Sound Processor
Speakers: Snell D

I use my A150 to drive a pair of Magnapan 1.5's. The amp is without question the best I could find anywhere near the price. I would say that the 150 watt rating is very conservative. I had the amp tested before I bought it to make sure it would have no problem driving the 4 ohm Maggies. It will easily push 250+ watts clean through 4 ohms without overheating or clipping. Very impressive.
Since I rate equipment based against other equipment in the same price range, the amp is clearly a 5.

I agree with Keith. This is a heck of an amp for the money.
Acurus is some of the best electronics you can buy in their price range.

5 stars for value and performance

I have owned my A150 for about two years, using them to drive a pari of Magneplanar MMG speakers. For the money, it would be very difficult to find an amplifier which performs as well, and is built so solidly. Very clean sound, but not harsh sounding at all. All in all, a great value, particularly on the used market.

I use this amplifier to drive my main speakers in my surround home theater system. For the price it is an excellent amp. If you can find it used for $300 to $350, it is a steal.
Wonderful amp for home theater. Buy 3 of them, for around 1k and you are in some serious business.

5 stars for the little Acurus.

I think anyone who compares a $699 amp to a couple of amps in the "thousands of dollars" range should expect "some" difference. However, to label the a150 as barely listenable, is as much a joke as your review, Johan. Did you ever think that maybe you had a defective piece of equipment? To give this amp 2 stars, especially when you consider the price, just shows how anal retentive some of you so called "audiophiles" are. If you're in the Krell and Cinepro price range, why are you demoeing an A150? Maybe you're just one of this boards "lackies" who can't stand seeing a product with near perfect reviews (and it's not one of yours),and you have to bash it. The A150 was one of the best amps "ever" in its price range. Get over it. Oh...Go have that A150 checked. It's either defective or your going deaf. Sorry

Got mine used for around 360$. Killer Amp that can be compared to the Brystone 3Bst and other more expencive amps out there. Im using mine to run the center channel but I hooked it up to the mains just for testing in stereo. Tight bass and clean sound. The A150 might have a beter grip on the tight bass than the A250. Very musical and capable of producing lots of power for its size and price. If anyone can make affordable Amps that put those expencive Companies to shame its got to be Mondial. Easy 5 even for a 1000$ Amp.
Aragon 8008BB
Acurus A250
Acurus A150
Sony TAE9000ES
Sony DVP 7700
Sunfire Sub MKII
D.H Labs Cables