Concluding
Contents
Seven amplifiers, seven characters, fourteen tests. It’s been quite a journey. But it was a beautiful, instructive journey in which we were able to find out quite clearly the various characters. For your convenience, we have put a table at the bottom with the weak and strong points of every amp we tested. And the corresponding price: without the extra options. So you can clearly see what the price differences are. They’re sometimes significant.
We’re not going to pinpoint a winner in this one, as it’s pretty useless. Sometimes the differences are very little. And in some cases it is a ‘bare’ model compared to a full all-in-one. So keep that in mind. It’s up to you to determine what fits within your system and what your taste and application is.
Short overview
Brand and Type |
Strong |
Less strong |
Price |
Ayre EX-8 |
Very airy and fast | Gets very hot | 6500 |
Hegel H390 |
Punchy and control | Refinement sometimes misses | 4995 |
McIntosh MA252 |
Smooth and friendly | Sometimes misses some detail and sharpness in imaging | 4999 |
MOON 340i |
Beautifully balanced, rich in sound | Not super detailed | 4200 |
NAD M32 |
Neutral, exactly | Imaging a bit flat compared to the rest. | 4499 |
NAIM Uniti NOVA |
Fun, PRaT | Analog inputs less transparent. | 5250 |
Yamaha A-S3000 |
Rich, flowing and grand sound | Sometimes fog some ‘oempf’ | 4999 |
Conclusion
What a test. We have learned a lot from being able to put these beauties right next to each other. Because honestly: they are all beautiful devices. Every brand has its own signature. Every brand has its strong and less strong points. And unfortunately it's true: investing more money makes sense. Although we always recommend setting a maximum, because it can really just become a lot more expensive than planned. And perhaps that will make you less happy at the end... too bad.We recommend that you take your time to read each review. Do not skip directly to the judgment and the tables with plus and minus points. :-).