The soundstage created by the Plinius 8150 is both deep and wide. The transients are dynamic without being overdone. Very smooth and musical - yet, dynamic! The best of Tube and solid state in one integrated amplifier. TAS reviewed the Plinius and concluded that it belongs in the "high end". My only critisism is the lack of availibility!

The 150W Plinius 8150 gets you into high end amplification without having to pay big prices for separates. I have Plinius M16/SA100 MkIII for my main system (at almost 3 times the price - with interconnects) and find the 8150 gets a surprising long way towards their elevated level of performance.My 8150 is a remarkably balanced musical performer. It is highly musical right through the frequency range. Most solid state amps draw your attention to certain frequency ranges or specific areas of strength. The Plinius seems to do everything with amazing neutrality. If you think neutral means boring - not so.
Apart from all the normal strengths like power, dynamics, soundstage, imaging. great bass etc, you get some things not offered by other integrateds:
1) The sound - the music - is "alive". Alive without any false brightness. Whether soft or loud passages the dynamics grab you. Even amongst the busiest of pieces instruements in the background can stand out, grab your attention while still allowing you to focus on other instruments.
2) It does so by generating an amazing amount of detail from the discs. It will allow you to hear sounds missed using other equipment. It does this and still sounds "tube-like" in its liquidity and smoothness (even at high levels).
3) It produces this detail as part of a whole "organic" sound.
3) It is remarkably transparent allowing you to "see" performers and instruments. They "look" and sound more real.
I have left my 8150 with several audiophiles and it actually outperformed their more expensive separates, once warmed up, much to their concern.
It is a stunning amplifier for the money and a credit to Plinius. No wonder it is getting rave reviews in this forum and in the audio press.

Still in a state of disbelief at what I've come across. Musical, musical: liquid, effortless amplification; very clean, unobtrusive pre-amplification; and --this is the kicker--a _world-class_ phono stage. All for under $3000.
The music is lively, expressive, involving--no dryness or dispiriting gritty solid-state edginess. Tube-like--very sweet and engaging--but plenty of muscle for the music that needs it (The Roots thumping away right now).

Slightly more compressed at high volumes than my friend's ($4200) Plinius MA-100 Mk. III, which he bought after hearing this integrated; but when I think of the thousands of dollars I saved buying this unit--money I get to spend on music!--I couldn't be happier. Easily the best bargain I've come across in high-end audio.

(If you've got the pennies, though, listen to the Big Brothers. Truly awesome equipment, this Plinius stuff.)

BTW, it sounds infinitely better after being on for about a week. DO NOT TURN IT OFF, EVER!

A joy, in short. Enthusiastically recommended, especially for those on a budget, like me.

Other components:
XLO interconnects and cables
Rega Planar 3 w/ Grado Reference Platinum
Adcom GCD-750
Hales Rev. 3

A hell of a system for under $8000, budget buyers. All I need, anyway.

Its been two weeks with this amp & all I can say is that its been quite satisfying experience.I have paired this amp with Totem Model 1 and Dynaudio Audience 40, and among other speakers. Its really very neutral,liquid, and quite involving.

The only thing I don't like about it is that is has to be left on at least 48 hours before listening critically.

The amp can benefit from spiking under its feet. The bass seem tighter and the imaging is more stable.

Highly recommended nonetheless.

As good as any integrated amplifier, better than a lot of seperates.

No balance control, must be left on all the time, no balanced inputs.

I owned a Classe CAP-100 for two years which I very favorably reviewed here when I got it. Recently, I've been upgrading various parts of my system, and had considered buying a used Jeff Rowland Concentra to upgrade my amp. While the Classe is good, the Rowland was a significant step up. Unfortunately, Rowlands sell used for around $3500. A dealer I had bought a Bel Canto DAC-1 and a Lehmann Black Cube phono stage from sold Plinius, so I decided to audition one, with the promise of a trade-in for my CAP-100. I assumed it should be better than the Classe, but I was much more impressed. The Plinius was every bit as good as I remember the Rowland Concentra, for much less money. The increase in detail, space, soundstage width, depth and height, and plain old "realism" was not small. The build quality inside and out is excellent. The MM phono stage is good, but not nearly as good as the Black Cube (as expected). The only drawbacks are that the amp must be left on all the time, there is no balance control and no balanced inputs. I think this is why it's so good for so relatively cheap; there are no frills. All the stuff you absolutely need, and nothing you don't. What is done is as good as there is in an integrated amp. With a Rowland, you pay another $3000 for fancy cosmetics, more bells and whistles and flexibility. All in all, I am very happy with this amp.

Similar Products Used:

Classe CAP-100, Jeff Rowland Concentra, Krell KAV-300i

I had this amp for about 2 weeks now & all I can say is that, its been great! A number of my friends has come to audition the amp & to date, all I get is praises. Some even preferred it to my Krell set-up for some odd reason!
The only downside I can say is that, the unit has to be left on all the time for the unit to sound really good. Other than that, I would highly recommend it!
So far I've been sucessful to hooking it up to Dynaudios and Totem Model 1. For sure, I would recommend owners to put it on spikes. It tightens up the bass and imaging.

I have the unit for 2 weeks now and all I can say is praises for it. I have matched and tried the unit with a number of speakers and so far have been sucessful with either the Totem Model1 or any of the Dynaudio speakers.
I dont want to reiterate what most reviewers have commented since what they are saying is all true! The only negative thing I find in this unit is that it has to be left on all the time which concerns me due to power problems in our country. In the US or in other parts of the world this might not be a problem. Overall I highly recommend it! Even a few of my friends are quite pleased with the sound coming out of the amp!

Please ignore the comments of Mr. B., below. On the Plinius pages, he prefers Krell; on the Krell pages, he prefers Plinius. Neither Plinius or Krell deserve low ratings, generally, in their respective product lines. The Plinius 8150 is a beautiful sounding product and a complete integrated (has a phono section, a completely selectable source output for recording, and a remote (volume only)). It produces a lot of heat, being Class A/A-B and needs ventillation...you can't turn it off, else, you'll lose that smooth, creamy, detailed sound. This is the integrated that will put a lot of separates out of business.

Amazing realism and detail; phono section; better nuance.

none for the price

Recently upgraded from 8150 to 8200 and after intial burn-in I am overwhelmed with the richer sound. Better detail with extended highs and tight bass. Plenty of clean detail for an honest presentation. More realistic than before. Better imaging; I mean the instruments sound so clean and precise and real in the room. Better soundstage as well.

I listen to jazz, classical, alt-country, rock and find that voices seem cleaner and fuller, and a full scale orchestra seems vibrant and richly textured. True pleasure.

System:
Arcam Alpha 9
Dynaudio Contour Mk II
Harmonic Technology cables and interconnect
Custom Power Company Power Cord Model 11 for Plinius

Similar Products Used:

Arcam, Classe, Krell, Mark Levinson

Very clean and transparent

Could do with greater weight and authority but still excellent value

I actually used the new Plinius 8200 which is very similar to the 8150, I used it to drive a pair of Thiel CS2.3 speakers.
This amp had no trouble with these speakers, in fact it was a huge improvement on my pre / power combo, giving improved dynamics, clarity and in particular tonal contrast, it did not show itself in my system at all, it just let the music play.
I used the amp for 10 days on trial and it needed all that time to warm up so make sure you listen to a fully run in sample! I must admit I was on the verge of buying this amp but whilst looking for further info on the internet I came accross a New Zealand dealer called Totally Wired.
After many, many emails I was persuaded by the owner John Ransley that another amp, the Perreaux 250iP integrated (also New Zealand manufactured) would give me all the Plinius qualities but with added bass depth and better control, I found this hard to believe!
Anyway I decided to talk his advice and bought it blind, when I got it in the system, I was very dissapointed but once it had burnt in it was incredible. I strongly recommend it to anyone who thinks the Plinius is good, the Perreaux is even better.
If it wasn't for hearing the Perreaux I would have given the Plinius 5 stars, it's still excellent but for me you get that much more with Perreaux! (it's excellent value bought direct from New Zealand and has digital volume and remote input selection)
Try it you will be smiling for a long time!

Similar Products Used:

Musical Fidelity P270 + Conrad Johnson PV10AL pre power, Perreaux 250iP integrated, Krell 300i