Detail top to bottom, neutral, nice phono stage for MM (haven't tried MC), above all, Value.

nitpicking...remote switches inputs but not muting.

Firstly, this little integrated was purchased, primarily, because it had a well reviewed phono stage, had remote control, and, had pre-outs and main-ins. This latter point was necessary because I bought the 3050a as a pre-amp (so I then could order the Parasound HCA-1500A power amp...audiophile reasoning at its best!)
But, until the power amp arrives, I hooked up the AMC into the system. I was not expecting a whole lot since my speakers are Maggies and, well, the amplifier is advertised at 60wpc at 4 ohms, not enough "oomph" to make the Maggies really sing.
My first surprise was build quality. Very good. My second was the sound. Quite good. Very neutral, detailed and spacious. I carefully cranked up the volume past background levels and was very surprised.
While not exactly "live performance" levels, this little amp marched right on at what I would consider average listening levels. No sign of strain! Hmmm....then I checked the Owners Manual. The specs there say 80wpc at 4 ohms!
Classic Records re-release of Carol King's "Tapestry" was awesome! The vocals were outstanding. I highly recommend this LP as well. The phono stage is quiet.
When John's baby arrives next week, the jumpers will be pulled and the 3050a will be a pre-amp only, but it is certainly good enough to serve as a full integrated!

Similar Products Used:

none

Price, Phono stage, good overall sound

Quality, remote lack features

I bought this from a pal as I was moving up from a low-end receiver. I wanted to get into proper audio gear. I
chose to go with AMC as the price was excellent for the
power.

After a burn in period I found the 3050 to be excellent, providing good overall sound. Maybe a little mushy on the low-end in the direct mode. A little tweaking
of the tone controls helps that out. In general though I
use the direct mode. It definitly does a great job with
the DVD player. Plugging in the stereo outputs produced a quality of sound well above that of my receiver.

I have, however, had quality issues. The knobs don't point
straight up in their neutral position. I am on my third amp since the previous two have had problems with channels either not powering up, or only kicking in after a warmup period.

I can give it 5 for value but only 3 for overall, due to these quality problems. The units are manufactured in Taiwan and I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the quality.

Equipment:
Yamaha CD player
AMC 3050a
Monitor ASW100 sub
Tannoy Mercury m2 speakers
AMX interconnects
XLO er-11 speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

AMC 3025a