gard0399

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Buy.com

Summary:
I am very pleased with the overall sound of the AMC 2100. So much so , I now own 2. They power my front and rears. Plenty of power for a 15x20 room. They do tend to be a little bright. I would suggest using them with traditionally bright speakers. This amp has never became warm at any time. One cool customer. My equipment is located in a 3x7 closet and still it never breaks a sweat. I would recommend anyone with a HT budget thats very tight to look at these nice amps.

Strengths:
-Power
-overall styling ( Clean Lines.... very NADish )
- Price...price..price

Weaknesses:
None at this price

Price Paid:  $149.00 from AMC WEBSITE

Summary:
Clean, bright, and punchy! What a great sounding preamp for the price. I went with the 1100 and 2100 amp after auditioning the AMC CD6 player which is a sweet sounding unit. Audiophile grade stuff for mid fi price. Now, if you have bright sounding speakers you wont like the slight brightness of this preamp. But, it has a punch to the low end that reminds me of kilibuck stuff. Good clean sound overall. I reccomend this as an audiphile cheapskate buy. Used with: AMC2100 amp AMC CD6 source Nordost 2 flat speaker wire Homemade nordost 2flat interconnects

Strengths:
Clean, bright, punchy sound Price

Weaknesses:
None I can find

Similar Products Used:
Nak, Yamaha

Price Paid:  $475.00 from Retrodaze Audio Prod

Summary:
I recently purchased a AMC 1100-5404AS tube preamplifier. This is a new AMC product unlike the AMC1100 solid state preamps reviewed in this section. I have a home theater system but I have always kept a separate stereo system for the sheer pleasure of listening to music. My music system consisted of a solid state Acurus L10 line preamp, Antique Sound Labs Wave 8 Monobloc tube amps and Pinnacle Gold Mini Monitor speakers. This system sounded very good , but I wanted to replace the Acurus L10 ( an excellent solid state preamp!) with a tube preamp because I thought that all tubes would be an improvement. I was reluctant to pay the high prices usually asked for high-end tube products, but I knew that AMC had produced several reasonably priced tube amps/preamps in recent years that have received some good reviews. So I decided to look at their current line which took me to Retrodaze Audio Products, an authorized online dealer (retrodaze.com) offering the new AMC 1100-5404AS. This is apparently a new model produced exclusively for them. I found product details on their website and subsequently telephoned Retrodaze, where Brent Hite answered all my questions clearly and patiently. In particular we discussed the tube content and I chose to have the preamp supplied with Philips NOS 5814A/12AU7A tubes as being the most suitable. I placed my order and a couple of days later Fedex delivered the nicest looking component. This preamp is heavy and well constructed. It is a neat little package, standard width and just over 3 inches high by 11 inches deep. The front panel controls are bass, treble, balance, tape monitor, volume, and input selector for tuner, CD,DVD, Phono/Aux, Multimedia and Mix, also a headphone jack. The mix feature enables users to use this preamp in conjunction with a computer to simultaneously listen and mix sources with the best possible sound. I was pleased to find two line outputs provided which is necessary when using a pair of mono amps as I do, and equally useful for anyone using a stereo amp plus a powered subwoofer. On hooking it up I was amazed at the improvement in my system. There is a clarity and detail without harshness that is remarkable. The sound is also warmer. The music stage is wide and deep, filling the room with sound that is a pleasure to listen to. Non audiophile friends and comment on the “great sound’’ so I feel that it is not just my bias for tubes clouding my judgment! As a matter of fact I think this preamp would do wonders with a solid state amp too, and should not be considered just a tube thing. My experience with other brands of tube components shows that tubes last a long time under normal usage conditions, and in any event those used in this preamp are readily available. One of the attractions of this preamp is that tubes can be changed easily because they are in sockets, not fixed like some earlier AMC products. They can be changed as easy as a light bulb. So tube lovers will be able to try more exotic tubes at will in their never ending search for the ultimate sound. In my opinion the AMC 1100-5404AS at the list price of $475 is an outstanding bargain. There is no point in spending more for high-end sound. After nearly forty years of playing with audio I like the tube sound best, and the AMC certainly delivers it.

Strengths:
Performance, appearance, construction quality, versatility, price

Weaknesses:
None to date, but have not tried phono or mix functions yet

Similar Products Used:
Preamps - VTL, Croft,Acurus

Price Paid:  $70.00 from Used Trading store

Summary:
I bought this preamplifier used at a very good price and on the strengths of reviews. Though I own other superior equipment by Onkyo (P304), Carver, and Harmon-Kardon (Citation IV), I can definitely state that this is a very uncolored transparent preamp adding very little personality to the sound and a pleasing warm smoothness. After many months of listening I found that something was "missing". More specifically, it was the lack of "personality" and associated musciality that characterized the other peramps I owned. It seemed by comparison to be "lifeless" with good rendition of the music, but an easy to ignore personality. I checked into the circuits to see it an improvement can be made. I found a surprisingly simple and effective design, but noted the the tone control chip was an inexpensive Signetics NE5532. I targeted this chip for replacement to a superior Analog Devices AD827 (recommended only if you have experience working with integrated circuits and desoldering wick). I was bowled over by the improvement. The lifeless muscicality became strong. The dynamics jumped markedly and this preamp now is eagerly listened to. If you should find the sound to be boring after many months of listening, investigate this simple and effective modification. All the signal passes though this tone control chip (even at unity gain) and all the sound character is affected by it. Before giving this mod an unqualified nod, you should also note that the "front end grudge" is reproduced more clearly and is of an irritating nature. But the improved dynamics, musicality,and personality make for a good recommendation. You should note that other chips are available and the AD827 is expensive ($11 versus $.90 for the Signetics). Finally it must be added that the Signetics chip is actually a very good choice for this circuit, as it effectively removes the front end distortion in the circuit, leaving a very clean transparent preamplifier. But for me and perhaps you, you may prefer the strong personality, musicality and dynamics that come with this simple modification.

Strengths:
Clean, transparent sound at a bargain price.

Weaknesses:
Creeping sense of boredom with the sound that is noted after many months of listening and by comparision with other high quality preamps.

Price Paid:  $9900.00 from Sound City

Summary:
An extraordinary high-end audio bargain---yes folks, high end for $99.00. Absolute brilliant design---can hold its own with many a $2000.00 preamp. One of the greatest values ever in high-end audio.

Strengths:
An extrodinary design for the price.

Weaknesses:
Absolutely none for the price