That the successful MyConnect 50 was going to have a bigger brother was to be expected – as the manufacturer himself reports. With the MyConnect 150, Advance Paris does more than just scoop it up.
From tube stage to 2 x 190W power amplifier, from Phono MM/MC to internet radio, from CD to Qubuz, from Bluetooth to Xmos USB, you name it.
MyConnect 150 has every loudspeaker under control with its solid power supply and enormous power. 130W to 8 ohms, 190W to 4 ohms and at a difficult load of 2.66 ohms 250W are coughed up per channel. Special is that in the preamplifier part vacuum tubes are used to the audiophile character of this device to strengthen,’ said Advance Paris on the newly released all-rounder. Since MyConnect 150 does not have problems with difficult loads, it can even connect three pairs of speakers that can play simultaneously in different configurations. In the configurations A+B, A+C and B+C the connected speakers must be at least 8 Ohm.
Streaming and music sources
The MyConnect 150 is made for streaming and playing music sources. To start streaming: with Advance Playstream, MyConnect 150 is a network player (WiFi or wired) that allows you to play music from your computer. In addition, music services such as SpotifyConnect, Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer and Amazon Music are supported. In addition, tens of thousands of Internet radio stations are available via TuneIn. A digital Bluetooth input is provided. With the optional X-FTB01 or X-FTB02 you can connect any mobile device to the MyConnect 150. MyConnect 150 can also handle Airplay and DNLA. Finally, music sources such as CD player, FM tuner and DAB+ are also at your disposal and many inputs (analog, digital and USB) are available to connect all kinds of devices.
The D/A converter
We let Advance Paris speak for himself: ‘Top devices today can only be top if they have an excellent D/A converter (DAC) on board. Advance pioneered the integration of dacs and continues this tradition. The MyConnect 150 uses the famous AKM AK4490 (32bit/768kHz) dac. Via the asynchronous USB input with the XMOS chip, Hi-Res music files such as DSD84, DSD128 and DSD256, both direct DSD and DSD over PCM (DoP) modes, can be played’.
High-quality headphone amplifier with two connections
Furthermore, we read in the press release that the manufacturer sent: ‘MyConnect50 has two headphone outputs (3.5 and 6.3 mm jack) that are powered by a serious headphone amplifier. For optimal adjustment to your headphones, the output impedance and gain factor can be adjusted to the headphones by means of switches on the back’.
Beautiful Bluetooth solution
Advance has been a specialist in this field since the emergence of the Bluetooth aptX standard. The MyConnect 150 features a smart novelty: a digital input for an optional Advance Acoustic X-FTB01 or X-FTB02 Bluetooth receiver. Unlike many other Bluetooth receivers, which are equipped with a relatively simple built-in DAC, the X-FTB… makes a direct connection (Direct Path) with the high-quality DAC in the amplifier itself.
In- and output
You have – as we hinted just now of course – a wide choice of in- and outputs. In addition to the already mentioned USB-B input, 2 coaxial, 3 optical inputs and one USB-A input are available. For analog sources there are 7 AUX inputs and a Phono MM/MC (high&low input). Also noteworthy are the two subwoofer outputs, where the pass-through frequency can be set to 75 or 125Hz.
Current retail price €1995