Price, generates enough heat to warm up the room during wintertime, reduced natural gas costs for heating. No Fan noise!

Too harsh of a high end to listen to comfortably, weak mid's, you'll need extra air conditioning in the summer to keep the room cool when running this amp. Sound quality dimished exponentially when pushed. Ran out of steam quickly.

Harsh high end, weak mid's, bass fair - I mostly listen to folk and classical music - acoustic instruments tend to bring out the best / worst in amps from a sound quality perspective. Be sure to use a pre-amp to get even marginal results with this unit. Better results were achieved using a hotter preamp signal and turning down the amps volume controls to about 85% of max. A full blown parametric EQ would also be useful to tone down the high end and boost the mid's. Purchased this amp based upon generally good reviews on this forum, but for me it was a big disappointment. I'll stick with my vintage / venerable SAE A205.

Similar Products Used:

SAE A205, Teac AV Receiver, Samson S63, Radio Shack

Inexpensive and decent.

A bit bright for me. Slight lack of bass.

I use this amp to power my Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's. The source is a direct connection to my computer. I think they sound great with this amp. Today however, I decided to try this amp out in my main setup. I hooked up the amp to the outs on my Marantz SR6300 to see what it would do. My test was small, 2 songs from the Uberzone EP. From the little testing I did, I found the soundstage to appear SLIGHTLY more 3-dimensional and forward. However, in one of the songs the hihat was louder than the Marantz, making it a bit ear piercing and more difficult to listen to other instruments. This loudness in the higher frequencies may have attributed to the difference in soundstage. I also felt the bass when using the Marantz was a little more present. I prefer the more laid-back sound of the Marantz receiver in my setup.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SR6300

Great sound, sturdy build + good price = Great Value!!! Comparable to NAD and Adcom units I have.

Goofy VU meters (minor), mediocre binding posts (very minor), not a well-known brand.

I was looking for a cheap solution to power the 6th and 7th channels in my HT. A poster in the forums here recommended I consider AudioSource. At first I noticed that this think smoked my Yamaha RX-V1400 receiver for sound quality...good, that's what I wanted!!! Just for kicks I put this baby up against my Rotel RB-1070, my Adcom 535 II, and a NAD 3140 integrated I have. Every night after work for the last few weeks I've spent an hour or two doing some a/b comparisons. Let me say I am very, very impressed with how good this unit sounds. Rated at 80 watts, it has more than enough juice for what I need, though, when I ran it through my Paradigm Studio 40 speakers, I couldn't really tell the 20 watt difference between it and my Adcom 535 II. No big deal. I suspect the Adcom is under-rated. The AudioSource Amp One faithfully reproduces music, and in all my test thus far, I haven't noticed any colorations or unwanted artifacts. Just pure clean sound. To my humble ears, it does sound a tad bit warmer than say Adcom or NAD amps, but not anywhere near as warm as my Rotel. I'd lump this amp in the same category as Adcom and NAD - bright, detailed, and technical sound. From a pure sound quality perspective, I'd put this up against my NAD and Adcom any day. In fact, I like it better than my old NAD, and I'm considering getting another one for my office to replace it. Plenty of bass power, and it does what it's suppose to do, amplify audio signals. At $240 or less, I'd definitely recommend the Amp One/A or Amp Two if you can get it, these things are perfect for external amplification in HT setups, or as an inexpensive entry to separates. I'd gladly put these up against amps in the $400-$600 dollar range. Truthfully!!! If there's anything negative to write about this amp, I suppose it'd have to be the lack of brand name power and history of quality that say, Adcom, Rotel, and NAD units come with...you know, that little bit of assurance we all try to look past but never really can. I know Adcom and NAD will be around for a long time, and are reasonably reliable units. I actually called AudioSource's tech support. They were extremely helpful. When I bought this unit (used) one of the goofy VU meters wasn't moving, so I was wondering about replacement parts. The build quality seems as tough as my Adcom and NAD, thought he housing isn't quite as thick. Plenty of air flow. The binding posts could be a bit better, but no big deal. The back and front plates are good and sturdy. I've since learned the VU meters were common problems in these units, and are no longer mounted on the Amp One...no big deal for me, they aren't all that useful anyway, and have no impact on sound quality. AudioSource is owned by Phoenix Gold, who also owns Carver, so I think they're backed up by a reasonably strong company. Still, I'm so amazed at this amp, I can't help but wonder why these things aren't storming the market, what could be wrong with them? I know a few other people with these and they're all happy. Is it just brand name power? All in all I'd say, yeah, this thing is a Giant Killer! I'm very impressed. E-mail me with any questions, or comments, especially if you've got any stories about this unit...I'm curious to know if others are as happy as I am. I'm giving this thing 5 stars in value and performance, because I've owned plenty of gear in and above its price range that didn't hold up in terms of sound quality. It won't slay a $800 dollar Rotel or a Krell amp or anything, but easily keeps up with NAD, Parasound, and Adcom units I've heard and owned.

Similar Products Used:

NAD 3140 and 2200, Adcom 535II X 2, Rotel RB-1070, Yamaha and Marantz receivers.

Entry-level audiophile quality amp with execellent S/N ratio. Volume controls to balance center, front and rear speakers. RCA output jacks for adding multiple amplifiers. Superior to most amps except true audiophile amps

Two-dimensional sound. Nickel-plated (not Gold) RCA jacks and binding posts. Inferior to audiophile quality amps

This is a review for the Amp One/A. This amplifier has above average sound and is moderately priced. The sound clear and bright. High frequency detail is very good but cold and two-dimensional. When compared to my reference amps, two Audionics CC-2 amps, one for each channel not running in bridged mode, the Audionics are silky smooth and image well (3-Dimensional). The Audiosource amp is cold bright and 2-Dimensional. I would say this amplifier is an entry-level audiophile quality amp. A quantum leap above any receiver I have ever heard. I am sure one can find a better sounding amp at this price since I have heard better vintage amps like the PS Audio 2C+, Audionics CC-2 for about the same price. Because the sound was not as good as my Audionics amps I plan to use it as a center channel amp and the Audionics amp as front and rear amps which is working excellent. My rating of average to above average is when it is compared to the sound of all amps and receivers. If it is compared to only audiophile quality amp I would have rated it average to slight below average overall and for value.

Similar Products Used:

PS Audio 2C+, Audionics CC-2, Threshold CAS 1, PS Audio Elite

Size, price, sound, plain face with no extra doo-dads or gimics that tend to break on electronics.

Cooling could be better designed.

First of all I have two of the Amp One/A's, not just one. I have one amp per speaker, i.e., both amps are running in mono. While I can't say how these are in stereo I can say how they are in mono. Lot's of juice with no signs of fatigue whatsoever. Specs state that they each run 200 watts in 8 ohms when bridged and by the way they perform I believe it! I have Polk RTA-8t's hooked up to them and they sound great, to me anyway! Into the higher listening levels they tend to screach the highs but the bass and mids are definitely solid. At moderate listening levels there is nothing to complain about. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation if you purchase this product. They do run warm but when you push the limits they run darn near hot! Though they are amplifiers and amplifiers do create heat these are the warmest runners I've ever had. It doesn't seem to effect performance though. Putting one on top of the other I wouldn't recommend. The only thing I with these had was the auto on/off which the other Audiosource amps have, but, with the space I had, not to mention price limitations.... Excellent small amps that will rattle your home!

Similar Products Used:

Philips, Onkyo, Carver.

Value!! Quality, power, quiet, small size, toroidal ransformer, great sound for the price.

None for the price. But it has cheap binding posts that won''t accept spades (boo, hiss). I''d gladly pay the $10 or $20 extra for some good WBT 5 way binding posts!

This review is for the Amp ONE/A, not just Amp One. The only real difference is the Amp One/A doesn''t have the level meters of the original Amp/One. But that''s good, I auditioned the original Amp One and it came with a broken meter. Why buy an amp with one more thing that can break? So when I saw this Amp One/A for about $220 I decided to buy it. It still has the volume knobs for each channel. If you''re using a preamp you''ll just want to leave them turned all the way up. I wanted this amp for my computer''s sound system to listen to CD''s and MP3''s. This amp is really a great value for the money. It is rated the same as the Amp One and Amp Two with 80WPC. I''m not sure why the Amp Two is more, maybe it has a little better parts but the specs read about the same. This amp is real quiet, it has plenty of power for its category. Don''t ask it to do miracles, it won''t replace a $600 Parasound or Adcom but gets 85% there for a fraction of the cost. For the price it does do miracles. It will be the crap out of any cheap mass market $300, $400 or $500+ receiver''s amp. I use it with a pair of NHT Super Ones and it sounds really nice with my setup. I just hook the soundcard directly into it and it sounds great. For a budget system it''s really hard to beat. You can even hook a CD player into it directly and use the volume knobs direct without even needing a preamp. For about $500 for someone who spends a lot of time at the computer there''s no way you could beat the sound for the price. The ultimate mp3 computer system. $220 amp + $300 NHT Super Ones + $30 Creative Esoniq sound card. Save your money and skip the Klipsch Pro Media when you can have real hi-fi sound for a little more.

Similar Products Used:

Amps from Carver, Rotel, H/K, Musical Fidelity

Great power output for small towers w/o passive subs and bookshelf systems. I would not recommend this amp for a sub amp, it is not built for that application.

None. My expectations were completely fulfilled.

Audiosource AMP One/A (2x80, 0.04 THD, 110db S/N, 2db dynamic headroom) This model does not have analogue meters, thank goodness. I steered away from the AMC 2100 amp, because of bad reviews and the +100 dollars for 20 more watts of power. I paid 180 brand new from SoundCity.com for this amp and it performs better than an H/K 3470 stereo receiver amp which is over 300. The amp has muscle, and is tonally accurate. The bass lacks the absolute gut wrenching punch of a Krell or Sunfire amp, but as long as you’re not driving speakers with built in un-powered subs or fifteen inch drivers you should be ok. This amp drives my JBL HLS 620’s without mercy. The only problem I can see with this amp, it lacks power. 2x80 watts of power is great, but don’t expect it to bring the roof down. A lack of power is not a problem as long as you don’t expect what it cannot and will not deliver. This is an absolutely fabulous amplifier for smaller tower speakers and bookshelf speakers. Add a subwoofer if you want gut wrenching bass, but don’t try to drive huge speakers with this amp. I tried driving some AR9’s and this amp just wasn’t up to it. The bass was muddied and noticeably softer than when powered with my ATI 1502 power amplifier. Use this amp for what it’s made for and you will be pleasantly surprised. This amp does not have the silly inaccurate analogue meters to burn out or distract. Really it only lacks A/B speaker outputs and soft clipping control that the AMP Two provides, but neither of these amps should be using these features anyways. Let me repeat myself, if you use it for what it was meant for, it will perform admirably. This amp will drive the heck out of 6.5 in driver towers and bookshelf speakers of similar size with precision and accuracy at anything less than ear bleeding volume. For 180 dollars, this amplifier is a steal. Pick one up and use it for what it’s built for, not what you think you want to do with it. If you want to drive big speakers, get two and mono-block them and you will have an excellent stereo system, but one will not cut it. The bottom line is: buy this for a great beginner component stereo system, or rear surround amp, but don’t expect miracles. It’s a great bargain and sounds better than most amps out there priced higher.

Similar Products Used:

ATI 1502, Marantz mono-blocks, Onkyo, Yamaha, Kenwood receivers. This amplifier is driven by an AMC 1100. Please read my review of this excellent preamp for more info.

Price, detailed and open sound (if not pushed to the limit), bridgeable, cool looking VU meters.

Strained sound at the absolute limits, VU meter lights can burn out, transformer buzz can be annoying if you are sitting close to the unit.

I first became interested in the Amp One several years ago. It seemed like a nice, basic quality amp, with more attention given to sonics than extras--something tough to find in the low-cost catagory. It''s always seemed to me that if you don''t have a lot of money to spend, it makes more sense for that money to go towards the basics, rather than pretty lights and do-hickeys that I''ll never use. The Amp One fits that bill, and even throws in some nifty lighted VU meters to boot. I bought two Amp One''s--these are the original model ''Ones, nearly identical to today''s Amp Two--on eBay. I ran the first for a couple of months and liked it, so I decided to go with two (yup, they are bridgeable). In stereo mode, I was impressed by how detailed this amp is. The low end is solid--probably not high-end solid, but better than the generic stuff most people end up with at this price point. Running two in mono, the sound stage opens up, and of course you get more raw volume to play with. And that can be important, as my main problem with the Amp One is that it runs out of juice pretty early, given it''s 80 watt per channel / 200 watts mono rating. If you push it to the limits, it sounds strained, even a little harsh. I''m not talking about obvious clipping, but rather a change in the openness and detail at the amp''s safe limits. Treat it like a 50 or 60 watt unit, though, and you''ll have no problems at all with the sound. If you wallet or spouse won''t let you sink the money into Adcom or Rotel, Audiosource is a company to look at for your amplification needs. A couple of other things to keep in mind: the analog VU meters are cool--or rather, warm, giving a off a nice amber glow--but seem to be delicate. I replaced the bulbs on both my amps--fairly easy if you are at all comfortable with a soldering iron. I don''t know if they were burned out to start with (both eBay sellers claimed they were not) or if they died in shipping. If you buy one of these used, tell the owner to pack them very well. Another potential problem, depending on the individual amp you get and on how you will be using it, is transformer buzz. If you will be physically close to the amp a lot, it might bug you. It''s worse on some units, and not even there at all on others--if possible, listen to the actual unit you''re thinking about buying.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Adcom

Strong, solid clean. Plus, Great Looks

Tendency for VU lights to burn out

A solid no frills performer, plenty of underrated power at 80watts/per. It is brigdable & I am looking for a second unit. Great build quality ... except for the VU back-lights which tend to burn out. Of course, I am biased by my $115 purchase price.

PRICE, LIGHTED METERS, VOLUME CONTROL

RUNS OUT OF GAS WITH 4 OHM SPEAKERS, CHEAP SPEAKER BINDING POSTS.

PICKED THIS UP TO REPLACE A OLD SANSUI INTERGRATED AMP. I CURRENLTY USE IT FOR MY FAMILY ROOM SYSTEM WITH A CERWIN VEGA SUBWOOFER AND RADIO SHACK LX5 FOR SATILLITES. INSERTED IT INTO MY REFERENCE SYSTEM WHEN MY TUBE AMP WAS BEING REPAIRED, IT RAN OUT OF GAS WITH MY MAGGIE MMG'S. CONSIDERING THE PRICE AND THE LISTED WEAKNESSESS, IT'S NOT A BAD DEAL. TOO HARSH OF A SOLID STATE SOUND FOR GOOD SPEAKERS AND DEFINATELY NOT 4 OHM ONES.