| Review
Summary: |
I
discovered this unit by accident. I bought a
LEMON of a tube amp from Melos and couldn't even
get rid of it--how could I sell an amp I knew was
bad to an individual in good conscience? So I
found a Melos dealer in Chicago and, after
hearing the whole story, he agreed to take it for
1/3rd the price I paid for it--but in credit.
That amount was just about $750.
Meaning only to buy a stop-gap set-and-forget
piece and casually interested in returning to
vinyl, I picked this little British integrated
from his shelves, only because it looks so cool.
(Magnum makes a MAJOR mistake by not having any
pictures on their website, because the products
really do look great--especially the new, more
powerful IA200. Get their brochure.) It has a
polished stainless-steel faceplate and knobs.
Magnum was founded by 1/2 of the founders of
Rega, of Planar turntable and Planet CD player
fame. Rega = RElph and GAndy; Roy Gandy still
runs Rega, and Tony Relph now owns and operates
Magnum Audio.
Well, what do you know--this little amp is
*really* nice. It puts out about 90 watts per
side (rated at 70) and has a decent amount of
power. But its distinguishing characteristic is
its delightful musical abilities--the sound is
what I would call "dancey," very
dynamic and tuneful. In some ways it beat the
$3,400 SS linestage-poweramp combo I had at home
at the time. The much more expensive combo had
better slam and weight in the bass, but compared
to the integrated sounded a little dull and
plodding. The only way I would say the Magnum is
lacking is in that it is just very slightly
lightweight and very slightly thin, but neither
of these faults is egregious or at all intrusive
considering all it does right.
And the phono section is GREAT for such a cheap
integrated. I know there is better out there, but
believe me, at this price you won't care. Heck,
you can spend $750 just for a "budget"
phono section these days.
The whole thing is just a great package for the
price, nearly unbeatable for anyone who wants to
spin vinyl records especially. For dorm
rooms--WOW. Wish I'd had something this good at
school. Decent power, great looks, handy small
size, very fine phono section, and moreover a
great way with music--tuneful, articulate,
dynamic, ALIVE. Beats the pants off a lot of the
crap I've heard in the under $1K budget
category--Creeks, NADs, Musical Fidelities (which
I like, but they sound thick and slow compared to
the Magnum). Highly recommended for anyone its
specs would suit. Fours stars for sound in
absolute terms and five for the whole everlovin'
shebang.
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