Van Alstine?

I can say without hesitation. This new Synergy450 which I have had for a week now. Sounds Excellent under any guide lines.i have been in this hobby for well over 30 years this amplifier even at $5,000 would be a solid investment. Since Frank hired a ree thinking very good electrical engineer
These new amplifiers with 12 Regulated power supplies truly allow the amplifiers to be at their best .i have 225wpc into 8 ohms and 450 into 4 ohms it sounds excellent. These Wavetouch audio loudspeakers are great
Withthis amplifier.the amp give it 100 hours ,even though they say not needed,it does,also a good aftermarket power cord also a Nice improvement.

Hi folks,

In 2005 I purchased an AVA Omegastar dac after having read a review that resulted in a TAS golden ear award... I had been curious about the brand anyway, the price was right and it actually sounded fantastic.
I was looking for a simple improvement for a cd player in a second system and it was so good that I used it in my main system for a few months. Engaging, big, effortless, grain-less... sound you could listen to for hours. Slightly lacking in dynamic slam and wanting more resolution I decided to send it up to Steve at Empirical Audio. He was such a salesman he convinced me that his "mods" would give me an increase in everything I wanted without losing the great scale/sound-staging and wonderful musicality. When I got it back it had a little more resolution but all the humanity was gone. After a week or so of letting it "break-in" there was no change and he refused to give me my money back. I sent it back to AVA to have it put back stock... Frank was very gracious, laughed at the mods and didn't charge me much. I purchased a Benchmark dac in the meantime which overall was not as holographic or tonally right but was a tag more smooth and focused as I recall. I since sold both units along with many other things but would not hesitate to try another AVA product. That was a while back but just wanted to share the very positive experience I had dealing with AVA and being a bit blown away at the humanity that the AVA brought to my system at the time.

Have owned a Synergy 450 for 2 years, everthing Audioman58 says is so.
First time in 40 years not looking for a better amp.