Great sound into 8 ohm loads - detailed, balanced and airy. Exceptional build quality. Unsurpassed reliability. Very conservative power rating - played loud this baby will blow marginal drivers.

Bass into 4 ohm loads can be a little loose and muddy. A set of line-out jacks would have been nice (maybe I will add them myself at some point). And though it is not exactly a weakness, some may find the sound a bit dry and technical - this is solid-state MOSFET amplification at its best.

I have loved this amp since the day I brought it home to audition. It may be the second best audio bargain of all time, after the Njoe Tjoeb CD player. At first the looks of the amp took a little getting used to, but now I think of it as starkly handsome. When I fired it up looks ceased to matter - this was simply the best-sounding $1000 amplifier I had ever heard. To this day nothing comes close in the price range. This is the last amp I will buy until I make the half-million-dollar-plus upgrade to the sound system - what I really need is a new house with a dedicated listening room. I have only been inside the unit to replace blown speaker fuses. I'm almost looking forward for something to break so I can tweak it a little.

Similar Products Used:

older NAD integrated amp.

Smooth and accurate with power to boot.

Needs to pair with higher end equipment.

I've had the pleasure of using the DIA for over 7 years and still lovin it. I feel its one of those very special products destined to be a classic. It offers a taste of the highend at entry level prices. Like any product, it isn't perfect but for the $$$, its about as good as you're going to get. One major flaw is that you have to pair it with higher end equipment because its not very forgiving. On the plus side, its able to drive almost any speaker load you give it. The DIA dishes out a dry accurate sound with a rather dark tonal balance. Select your components accordingly. I'm currently in the process of revamping the setup and have been searching for a CD player to pair with it. I ended up with the Heart CD6000. Interconnect: Synergistic Research Alpha Sterlings. So far so good. My old DIA setup consisted of the Paradigm Studio 60s, Marantz CD63(used as transport), and Audio Alchemy's DDEv3.0 (DAC) with cabling from Kimber.

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Arcam, Audio Refinement, Exposure, Musical Fidelity, Bryston

No phony baloney treble,bass,etc controls. Built like a tank.Excellant sound from top to bottom.No noise whatsoever. Plenty of inputs,tape loops.Has balance control for fine tuning certain recordings.

None so far.

I had been waiting for one of these to come available on the used market for a while.I had read the reviews and I was very anxious to get my hands on one. I must say,this is one fine amplifier! It sounds as good as ANY amp I have ever had.No background noise whatsoever.The highs are very smooth and the bass very tight and low.As far as problems with system matching,I don't seem to have any. It sounds great with my 96/24 Sony DVD player and Altec VOT speakers.I am using custom made RCA cables.When I get a new amp I always use the same CD's for comparison's.The Acurus better's all of my previous power amplifiers.Even my old Audio Research D-52b.It is not harsh on the top end or weak on the bottom.My Altec's have NEVER sounded better.My horns were very noisy with my Audio Research SP6-b pre-amp and separate power amps.Alot of background hiss.You hear nothing with the Acurus.And these are some some big horns!If you can find one of these used,you had better buy one.This is definately a giant killer!The shear fact that I have a Audio Research SP6-b pre-amp sitting on my floor not connected should tell you something!This Acurus intergrated amp will make you forget all about separates.

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Adcom 545 amp,Audio Research D52-b amp, B&K ST2140 amp,B&K ST202 amp,Hafler DH500, Carver TFX 6,Linn LK100.

I agree with earlier posts. Huge empty spaces inside to tweak. Very resp

I agree with earlier posts.

Clean, detailed sound and powerful, tight bass Could be too bright/clinical high depending on rest of the system. I had it 8 years now and never had problem. A month ago, I replaced input coupling cap from volume pot (c1, c2), which is comprised of 10uf electrolytic Nichicon and 0.1uF Wima, with 9uF Auricap. Sound simply blossoms after a month. I hear things I never knew was there, lush and aura around the sound, a voice turns out to be several voices in chorus. Not harsh at all. I also upgraded stock power supply caps with one 4700uF Samhwa audio grade cap (80V rating) and one 220uF standard Blackgate cap for each channel in parallel. I actually don''t know how much improvement is due to Auricap or power supply upgrade. Rest of the System : Transport : NAD5000 DAC : EVS DAC2 Interconnect : Homegrown Silver Superlace Speaker : Apogee Centaur (with huge tweak) Speaker cable : Chris Ven Haus CAT

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Musical Fidelity A2 Krell KSA 150 Several Tube Amps

Never would I like to criticize a product with a price range where anyone can afford, but I felt really bad not to. To think that an audio enthusiast would give this product such a compltment as in 4.80 rating is a real joke. Even the price you pay for this product is not as high as a KAV300i, still to compare it with the Golden Tube Audio Se50i intergrated amplifier, which is also about the price of the DIA100, this DIA100 is way below its standard. I would not pay more than $300 for an amplifier with this kind of standard. Poor balancing and soudstaging, even if I pair it with Totem Mani-2. Bad lows and also very shaky highs, and I am very sure it is not because of the speakers and the accesories. This amplifier gives America a bad name.

This DIA drives my Celestions with elegance and transparency of far more costly amps. When one considers buying an Onkyo, Yamaha, Adcom or other mid-fi amp, they should see the DIA as an example. The current transfer and bass are FAR superior to any combination even beyond it's price. This fine North American (don't you dare call it integrated) is a true value, even with the weaker Canadian dollar. Abandon the thought of those "150" or "200" watt Japanese mid-fi components, this is your gateway to the high end. WELL DONE MONDIAL!!! A very enthusiastic 5 stars. This value cannot be beat! (Imagine getting a Ferrari for the cost of a Grand-Am!

Crisp Clean Awesome!!!!!

NONE

I was always skeptical about so called upper end units.

I would rather spend my money buying plastic worms to go Bass fishing.

What a surprise the ACURUS DIA-100 MKII was!!!

The build quality was excellent but more important was the sound. I use a set of PARADIGM MINI MONITORS using 8 gauge
speaker wire and a SONY cd player. What fantastic sound!!!
I can readily hear things I have never been able to hear before and the sound stage is remarkable.

I am finally happy with what I have and my seach is over!!!!
Five stars all the way!!!! Thank-You ACURUS

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo Marantz other Japanese units

I've lived with the DIA-100 Mkll for a couple of years,and am convinced that it is one of the audio bargains around today. The DIA has been playing my OLD Sony ES 5 disc changer, with a DITB connected to it. The speakers are B&W 630I's. Every time Ithink about buying some new gizmo, I sit in front of this set-up and get a reality check. The music plays and plays. When the bass needs to be strong, it handles it.When the acoustic instruments are present,they seem full and realistic. When I want to rock, no problem. I can honestly recomend the DIA-100 as a dynamic working man's music maker!

Great bargain for the price paid. $500

Lack of remote control.

I have auditioned the DIA-100mkII against Denon POA-2800 / PRA-1500 and Rotel 985 setups. For speakers I use PSB Alpha A/V's and Polk LS-70s. For sources I use a mass market Sony 50-Disc changer & JVC TN1050 Digifine CD player.
Out of the three amps I've auditioned the Acurus is the most transparent. It exposes the flaw in mass market Sony CD changer, sounding unnatural and dry in the low frequency range while overly harsh and bright in the upper frequency range. Much of that sound distortion disappeared once I switched to the JVC CD player. In an Acurus, JVC and Polk
combo, the sound is great for rock music. The amp really helped the trilaminate titanium tweeters of the Polks stand out, with excellent imaging and dynamics. For classical music the transition is not quite as smooth as the sound sensitivity is skewed towards the treble. However, the PSB Alphas made a great match for playing classical music at a moderate volume.

The build quality for the Acurus is on par with the Rotel and both are a level above the Denon product. The power switch on the Denon feels flimsy while the Acurus has no such qualm. The only complaint I have with the Acurus is the lack of a remote control to adjust the LR balance. As some CD's are recorded off-center and I need to get out of my listening position to make the adjustment.

Similar Products Used:

Denon POA-2800

imaging, excellent bass control, price/performance ratio

very revealing, not forgiving of poor system matching

Associated system: Acurus DIA-100 direct input amplifier; Sony mass market CDP-291, NAD-502, Rotel- 855, and Sony CDP-XA20ES (ES series) CD players; Adcom GFT-555 mkII tuner; Adcom GSP-560 surround processor/rear/center amplification; Adcom ACE-515 power conditioner; Kimber "PBJ" interconnects; Kimber 4TC and 8TC speaker cables; Vandersteen 2ce (biwired) loudspeakers.

Let me start by saying I have owned my DIA-100 for about 5 years and have used it with a variety of components. I think the previous 2 reviews indicate the true nature of the Acurus. It is very picky about what is "upstream". System matching must account for the analytical nature of the DIA-100. Feed it bright electronics regardless of their pedigree and you will have an overly bright result. The same goes for bright speaker systems. To me this represents the real strength of the DIA-100. It’s no wonder several reviewers from both Stereophile and The Absolute Sound liked the amp so much. It will speak volumes to trained ears regarding what the system is composed of. This is in no way a euphonic amplifier. If you are into the seductive (but not accurate) British integrated sound then you will never learn to like the DIA-100. However, if you are careful in your system matching, you will find the little Acurus rewards in spades for this price range.

I agree that one of it's problems might be it's price point. It will undoubtedly be paired with midfi equipment as it was in my system originally. When fed by my mass market Sony CD player things were pretty unimpressive. Incisive midrange, brittle highs, bloated bass with a huge midbass "bump", poor imaging. Next I stepped up to the Rotel and NAD players which improved things quite a bit. Soundstage became 3 dimensional, with some depth and improved imaging. Bass was more extended and "faster". If I had stopped my digital upgrades at this point I would probably agree with many of the posted reviews which call the DIA-100 "aggressive" or "bright". I always assumed the Acurus was largely to blame for the slight grain in the mids, and imaging blurring in the soundstage, and slightly forward treble in my system. Luckily my NAD-502 failed sending me on a sub $1,000 CD player search. I carefully auditioned the Rega Planet, Rotel 971 (HDCD equipped), and Sony XA20ES players. (I have never considered the Sony ES series to offer true high end performance until I read the class "A" rating Stereophile gave the XA20ES's big brother the XA7ES calling it "a CD player without equal". Much to my surprise in my system the Sony was by far the best player of the three (see my full comparison of these 3 players).

Suddenly the soundstage doubled in depth, and offered pinpoint imaging. Bass was further extended and articulated like I've never heard before. Dynamics seamed to double in their loud to soft impact. And now that the DIA-100 had a synergistic match, it simply got out of the way of the music! I can now listen to hours of music without fatigue. The hardness I blamed on the Acurus is gone and now I finally understand why so many reviewers fell in love with this amp. Don’t misunderstand. Bad recordings still sound like bad recordings. I still have treble in spades, but without the "edge" so often heard with unruly digital. The delineation of images within the soundstage is frightening at times. My father uses all Theta gear and he is blown away by the synergy of my system now. Please note I also agree with the posts indicating it is very sensitive to cables as well. My Vandersteens are somewhat "laid-back" in their view of the world and the Acurus-Kimber-Vandersteen combo appears to work very well. The DIA-100 is truly a high end amplifier. But as such it requires careful system matching. It will faithfully tell you what's upstream. If you don’t want the truth, there are always those "euphonic" British and/or tube integrateds…

4.5 stars for the DIA-100!

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Arcam, Rotel, Adcom