beautiful .... these sound SO good ..
When Wes Phillips heaped praise on the DiVA A85 integrated amplifier, he didn’t just say it was good. He went so far as to compare it to some of the best integrateds that money can buy. I admit to raising my eyebrows and thinking, Can it really be that good? After hearing the FMJ A32 at length, I can now understand his praise.
Although the A32 does sound a wee bit better after a short warm-up, even straight out of the box I could tell that the sound of this integrated was something special. It was smooth, clear, and clean -- no, make that squeaky clean. If signal purity is what you’re after, then the A32 gets high-fives all around, even when you compare it to products far more expensive. And as for "get up and go," the A32 has that too.
A number of tracks on Buena Vista Social Club Presents: Omara Portuondo [Electra/Asylum 79603] are full of excitement and vigor. The ultra-precise A32 is quick on its feet and has agility that breathes life into the music. I was most impressed with the crystal-clear rendering of the vocals and the precision of the percussion. The stage is laid out wonderfully, and the musicians are easy to pick out in the mix.
The A32's bass is tight, detailed, and controlled, but this is not an integrated amp that warms things up excessively or is "bloomy" in the bottom. When drums connect, their sound is incisive and without overhang or slop. My choral-orchestral test disc, The Mission soundtrack [Virgin 90567-2], is robust-sounding and laid out with a vast amount of space and pinpoint delineation of the voices in the choir. The sound with the A32 was razor-sharp.
High-frequency performance, sometimes the Achilles' heel of solid-state electronics, has a lot to do with this perception of speed and precision. With the A32, it's clear, airy, and extended without a hint of being bright or edgy. There’s nothing nasty in its delivery, and there is nothing forgiving or warmed over to cover things up. If you have an overly bright or tizzy-sounding source (which the CD23T CD player is not -- it’s just as clean and extended as the A32), then you could run into problems. The A32's high frequencies were simply pristine with my system configuration, and this trait makes the A32 quite a revealing performer for use with the best components. In fact, I used it to critique high-end digital sources a number of times.
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/arcam_a32.htm
ou might slip, you might slide, you might
Stumble and fall by the road side
But don't you ever let nobody drag your spirit down
Remember you're walking up to heaven
Don't let nobody turn you around
… Walk with the rich, walk with the poor
Learn from everyone, that's what life is for
And don't you let nobody drag your spirit down
Eric Bibb
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Originally Posted by Lawrence001
