trane
16-12-2012, 19:38
As above. The Meracus Intrare was a masterpiece of integrated amps from Germany, and IMHO of the '90s and early 2000s, as well, built to extremely high standards with specially selected parts (ROE /Roederstein/ elkos, WIMA film caps, Motorola diodes, Toshiba bi-polar trannies, etc.) and utilising extremely short signal paths a la Matti Otala. The unique philosophy behind the circuitry was succesfully turned into the design, which was equivocally reflected in the sound, too: all German hi-fi mags of the time (Stereo, Stereoplay and Image Hi-Fi) in their reviews listed the Intrare among the valve amps per its amazing tube-like sonics with a good reason. I must say that I have owned quite a variety of related valve (AI S300 MkI and MkII, Woodside ISA230), hybrid (Pathos Classic One, Unison Unico Uno) and SS amps (Heed Obelisk i, YBA Integré MkII, Electrocompaniet ECI-2, Copland CSA14, Creek 5350SE), to name but the most precious ones, but the Meracus Intrare stands proudly out of that otherwise impressive crowd having the most involving and musical sound of all. This opinion is reflected in Dave Berriman's March, 2000 HFN&RR review, as well, where he is perfectly amazed by the Intrare' sonical merits (pp. 54-55).
The amp is in perfect technical/operational condition, and the aesthetics are okay as well with the previous owner having re-sprayed the fascia, thus, it is shiny black w/o any lettering. It, however, does not make a difference to the pretty straightforward and simple use - you just have to remember what you plugged in where and switch for the required source accordingly. Otherwise, the case or fascia has no scratches, dings, etc.
The Intrare went through an elaborate service by an established amp professional including
- PSU:
new Mundorf M-Lythic elkos
new ON silicone diodes
NOS ROE MKT1813 film caps
new microswitch for standby
high purity solid copper cabling
Mundorf copper foil shielding on the mains transformer
cleaning the PSU protection relay
- pre-amp:
new Motorola J-FETs
new Nichicon Muse elkos
NOS ROE MKT1813 film caps
new and pretty rare Hovland MusiCap coupling film caps
new Alps Blue Velvet volume pot
new microswitch for source selection
18AWG copper Kimber hook-up cabling to the pot
- output stage:
10AWG copper Kimber hook-up cabling to the speaker outputs
new 3-way, gold-plated copper speaker output terminals
cleaning the output stage protecting relay
- case:
new, most beautiful aluminium volume control knob
new vibration control feet.
Originally, standby, source selection and volume functions could be operated via a remote control, but when I bought the amp it was lost - and I never felt it missing. The factory-supplied shipping box is not available, though, but I can wrap and box the Intrare very safely.
Photos here> http://www.flickr.com/photos/78018005@N07/?savedsettings=8277621528#photo8277621528 (Please note that 'review1 and 2' show the above-referred HFN&RR review, and the attached Word docs and PDF file contain those noted German rankings.)
Asking price is 360.- GBP (the original price was 995.- GBP), plus insured shipping, which is 35.- GBP via DPD from the EU. Payment preferred via bank transfer but PP is possible either.
Finally, for peace of mind you're welcome to check my spotless reputation here or at other forums, as well.
The amp is in perfect technical/operational condition, and the aesthetics are okay as well with the previous owner having re-sprayed the fascia, thus, it is shiny black w/o any lettering. It, however, does not make a difference to the pretty straightforward and simple use - you just have to remember what you plugged in where and switch for the required source accordingly. Otherwise, the case or fascia has no scratches, dings, etc.
The Intrare went through an elaborate service by an established amp professional including
- PSU:
new Mundorf M-Lythic elkos
new ON silicone diodes
NOS ROE MKT1813 film caps
new microswitch for standby
high purity solid copper cabling
Mundorf copper foil shielding on the mains transformer
cleaning the PSU protection relay
- pre-amp:
new Motorola J-FETs
new Nichicon Muse elkos
NOS ROE MKT1813 film caps
new and pretty rare Hovland MusiCap coupling film caps
new Alps Blue Velvet volume pot
new microswitch for source selection
18AWG copper Kimber hook-up cabling to the pot
- output stage:
10AWG copper Kimber hook-up cabling to the speaker outputs
new 3-way, gold-plated copper speaker output terminals
cleaning the output stage protecting relay
- case:
new, most beautiful aluminium volume control knob
new vibration control feet.
Originally, standby, source selection and volume functions could be operated via a remote control, but when I bought the amp it was lost - and I never felt it missing. The factory-supplied shipping box is not available, though, but I can wrap and box the Intrare very safely.
Photos here> http://www.flickr.com/photos/78018005@N07/?savedsettings=8277621528#photo8277621528 (Please note that 'review1 and 2' show the above-referred HFN&RR review, and the attached Word docs and PDF file contain those noted German rankings.)
Asking price is 360.- GBP (the original price was 995.- GBP), plus insured shipping, which is 35.- GBP via DPD from the EU. Payment preferred via bank transfer but PP is possible either.
Finally, for peace of mind you're welcome to check my spotless reputation here or at other forums, as well.