Up to 84% in savings when you subscribe to The Absolute Sound
Logo

Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

NAD C 316/C 326 BEE
$379/$549
The entry-level C 316 is still the go-to amp for audiophile newbies who crave sonic neutrality, good power output, nice tactile feel, and NAD’s characteristic quality control. Looking for a little more oomph? The 50Wpc C 326 will make BEElievers of even the most jaded audiophiles.


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

NAD D 3020
$499
Truly a design for our times, the D 3020 is improbably small and portable and loaded. This 30Wpc integrated offers a 96kHz/24-bit USB input and aptX Bluetooth music-streaming. With a smooth top end, its speed and openness can be truly enthralling. Although there’s a little bit of a veil over the sound, the D 3020 need make no apologies. At $499 it is a small miracle of packaging and portability, and a delight to use and listen to.


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

PS Audio Sprout
$499
Simply put, JM adored this integrated amp/DAC from PS Audio straight out of the box. Whether you’re into digital or analog, you’ll discover big-buck sonics and incredible versatility in a neat little package. In addition to a 50Wpc Class D amplifier, the Sprout comes equipped with a 192/24 DAC and an analog input-selector for all inputs (including Bluetooth, asynchronous USB, analog, and coaxial). The Sprout also serves as an analog preamp with built-in, passive eq, moving-magnet phonostage, and as a low-output-impedance headphone amplifier. Hats off to PS Audio for producing a latter-day receiver that any music lover or audiophile would surely enjoy—and that is small enough to tote in a handbag.
2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

Denon PMA-50
$599
A compact, stylish combination of a headphone amplifier, a DAC capable of playing PCM files up to 384/24 and DSD128, and an amplifier rated at 50Wpc into 4 ohms, 25Wpc into 8 ohms. It has both analog and digital inputs, including Bluetooth to connect your smart phone. And an analog output jack lets you connect a subwoofer. The remote control lets you access some of the less frequently used adjustments, including tone controls. The PMA-50 makes an excellent choice for a beginner’s system, a bedroom system, or an office system.


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

Micromega MyAmp
$649
MyAmp is a complete digital hub, with wireless streaming, analog and digital source- switching, and a headphone amplifier. Sonically, it has a full-throated midrange, good dynamics, and solid imaging. There is minor veiling on top and just a little speed-bumping of transients and deeper bass pulses. Soundstaging, however, is very good. MyAmp stands as confirmation that serious sound comes in all sizes.


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

NuForce DDA-120
$699
The DDA-120 was made for audiophiles who need a moderately priced, single-box amp/preamp to connect any conventional digital source to a pair of loudspeakers. If your speakers are at least 88dB sensitive and you can work around the DDA-120’s ergonomic limitations, you may find that it is simply the best-integrated amplifier you’ve heard. (Now includes an analog input.)


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

NAD C 356 BEE 
$799
The 80Wpc C 356 BEE borrows technologies from NAD’s Master Series M3 dual-mono integrated. Its tonal balance leans slightly to the darker side, bringing a bit of extra wood to strings and burnish to brass. The soundstage is large, with a good sense of air around instruments, and a nice sense of depth.


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

Cambridge CXA80
$899
Cambridge really stepped up its game with its suavely restyled and affordable CX Series. A rung above its lower-cost sibling, the CXA60, the dual-mono, Class AB, 80Wpc CXA80 is battle-ready for the digital world. Thanks to the CXA80’s Wolfson 24-bit/192kHz WM8740 DAC chip, computer audio is as close at hand as the USB input, or use the front-panel jack for MP3 players. Although it mysteriously lacks a display, you’ll get over it given the CXA80’s smooth, relaxed sonics, and abundant headroom for demanding loudspeakers. Includes a full-function remote and headphone jack.


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

Rega Brio-R
$995
There’s a lot to be said for an amplifier that doesn’t sound conspicuously solid-state or tube, but suggests the strengths of both. The Brio-R impressed with its lifelike combination of body, timbre, and authority. Particularly well suited for smaller floorstanders and compact speakers of medium-to-high sensitivity.


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

NuPrime IDA-8
$995

Sonically and functionally, JM found plenty to love about the IDA-8. Essentially, it’s a sleek-looking, small-footprint hybrid Class A/Class D integrated amplifier/DAC—that combines Class A warmth and resolution with Class D speed, power, and efficiency. Its DAC supports USB 384kHz/32-bit and DSD256, and is also capable of decoding DoP (DSD over PCM) via coaxial and optical inputs. The well-conceived IDA-8 delivers substance with plenty of gusto—and does so from an astonishingly quiet background. A great-sounding stone-cold bargain. 

NuPrime IDA-8 integrated amplifier

Arcam A19
$999
Whether you are looking to purchase your first hi-fi component or need an affordable option for a second system, the Arcam FMJ A19 integrated amplifier sounds like a real high-end product—without the high-end price. Your $999 buys you a musical, involving presentation with above-price-point performance in imaging and very low noise. At 50W into 8 ohms and 90W into 4 ohms, the Arcam also has plenty of power to rock out with most dynamic speakers. Plus its build-quality is solid. 


2016 Editors’ Choice Awards: Integrated Amplifiers Under $1,000

Tags: LIST

Read Next From Review

See all

Adblocker Detected

"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."

"There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."