Best integrated ever made ?

Part 3.

I never understood the expressions "makes you want to tap your feet", "engaging", "musical" etc.... I mean, these were constantly used for tube-like gear, and i just didnt understand what wasn't so musical or engaging with my extreme precision set up.

Now i know. Now i get it. And its changed me forever. Which is why im writing this overlong, overblown c*ap : but, how often does something important in your life do a complete 180° U Turn ????

We did an A/B with the 300il for 3 hours. I knew after the first 15mins that i had been changed. And afer 3 hours, i couldnt stand the Krell sound. It sounded hostile, aggressive. I now understood the expression "makes my ears bleed" because thats what the 300il did. I took out my checkbook, asked them to pack the Maestro and i was on my way home, a changed man, with his new toy.

It took me 1h30mins to reach the third floor of my house : one piece of advice, if you buy this thing, have a friend or relative to help you. They do not move easily.

My speakers are 85db (Infinity Omega's). They are very hard to drive. The Odyssey Stratos Stereo, the 300i krell, the new Rotel, the NAD S300 all failed. Bass was terrible.

The AA Maestro, right out of the box, handled them like a dream. It has now replaced my primary system, which i am selling off as i write this because i cant stand how it sounds.

If i had to define the sound of the Audio Analogue Maestro : creamy without being too thick (like some tube systems are), huge soundstage, extremely musical, natural, spatial precision exemplary with palpable instruments, holographic projection of the performance ( Leonard Cohen was in that room, i swear!!!). I could go on. What absolutely floored me was the pleasure i was experiencing just listening to music : you know when you run 10 miles under a clear blue sky with only one thing on your mind during the last 6 miles " A glass of water, please....". Well, listening to the Maestro gave me the same pleasure as drinking that glass of water after the effort.

And now for the real kicker : the price. The Audio Analogue Maestro retails for 25.250 FRFS. I got it for 22.900 FRFs, which translates approx to $3000. The Krell 300il costs $4600.

Ive written far too much. I guess i just wanted to share my experience which has been an absolute revelation. I hope some of you will have the chance to hear this amazing audiophile work of art.

Amazing description Badwisdom - I'm looking forward to read part 3. Actually, I saw a review of the Maestro in a German audio magazine (Stereoplay or Audio, can't remember anymore) a couple of month ago. Although, they liked it a lot there were still some integrateds with higher rankings than the Maestro (Gryphon Callisto 2200 and ASR Emitter come to mind). Still, it seems to be a pretty nice amp.

@Mcp1: I was surprised to read your description of the Pathos. With regard to design, I find it the most stunningly beautiful amplifier. Previous reviews and comments, I read about it, however, described it often as a tad too neutral (albeit praising it as a very fine amp). I plan to upgrade my Sim Audio I-5 somtime (because it's a bit too neutral too - I want to give tubes a try) and didn't consider the Pathos as an option because of that.

There is a review of the AA Maestro in the most recent HiFi+. They basically liked it, stating that while powerful, it does not behave like a 'muscle amp', rather "its strengths lie more in the delicacy and natural presentation, normally the domain of much lower powered designs - the difference being that it will achieve this performance at realistic levels into almost any loudspeaker." Their main quibble was the fixed 100 ohm load on the MC stage, which can leave some cartridges sounding lifeless (they noted the Helikon). But, with the right cartridge, they said it sounded great. You should check out the write up.

Below is a link to review of the AA Maestro, I scanned thru it. As with most reviews, they had good things to say about it, but I didn't sense it was going to set the audio world on end. (It's price appears to be a good buy.)

http://www.hifiplus.com/t-rev12-1.html

Just read the review of the AA Maestro in HiFi+ mentioned above by Brian -- certainly a mixed review at best, and maybe even lukewarm. HiFi+ had a recent review (Issue 10) of the Lavardin IS integrated amp, a French product, which the reviewer described in nearly ecstatic terms. The Lavardin sells for considerably less than the Audio Analogue Maestro integrated, although it has less power, but the reviewer concluded the review of the Lavardin by saying: "If one day you are fortunate to hear one, the sheer scale, power, and beauty of its performance will impress itself into your memory, and it will remain there for the rest of your life!" Weighing the rave for the Lavardin against the qualified commentary for the AA Maestro leaves me wanting to see a second opinion on the Maestro.