There is a lot of really wonderful audio equipment coming out of Italy and the former Eastern Block Countries. Enjoy your acquisitions Walter.
Synthesis Amplifiers: One of High End's Best Kept Secrets?
Just stopping by to share my enthusiasm for my new Synthesis A100 Titan integrated amplifier. For the past few years, I have been on the hunt for the best integrated amp I could find in my price range. I've had a Line Magnetic 508ia, a Devialet, a Lyngdorf TDAI-3400, a Boulder 866, a Vitus RI-101 mk2, and a Vitus SIA-025 mk2 in the past four or five years. I enjoyed aspects of each of these amps, some related to sonics, some to functionality, and some to build quality.
And yet, in each case, after several months, I found that I wasn't quite getting the sound I wanted--rich, three-dimensional. engaging, and dynamic without being fatiguing. Too often, I found myself picking the sonic picture apart, assessing this or that at the expense of pure musical enjoyment.
I finally decided to give up on my hunt for the "perfect" solid state solution and go back to tubes, which led me to audition the Synthesis A100 Titan, an amp that features an octet of KT66 tubes, a pair of 12AX7, a pair of 12BH7, and even an onboard DAC. I was intrigued by this amp, but found very, very little written about it in the audio forums (here and elsewhere), except the praise of a couple of folks.
I've had it about a month now, so while I cannot give a guarantee that it is my "lifetime amp" in light of my history of amp promiscuity, I can say with absolute assurance that I find this amp far more satisfying and exciting than any of the amps I've had through here over the past few years.
In short, I am just astonished by it. I had assumed that at the very least, the onboard DAC would be inferior to my Lampizator Baltic 3, which is just wonderful in every respect, but as I spend more time comparing, I am not even sure of that anymore. The onboard DAC is so good that I am now planning to try some different USB cables to see how much performance can be squeezed out of it. Very possibly, my excellent Lampi may soon be up for sale.
Just to be clear, this is no ad, and I have no affiliation whatsoever with any dealer or distributor. I just can't believe how good this amp is, and how relatively unheralded it is. So I am heralding. The Titan is a pure pleasure to listen through every night, and a magical match with my Fyne speakers. The presentation is utterly immersive, and spellbinding. I am no longer picking the sound apart. There's no need.
If you are in the market, I highly recommend an audition.
78 responses Add your response
Yes, the Roma 69DC is a very good DAC. Also good are the DACs built into Synthesis integrated amps. This is a company that delivers good value. Italy does have quite a few good Audio companies. I like the stuff from Lector; they make very good DACs and phono stages. I recently discovered some pretty decent sounding speakers from a company called Rosso Fiorentino. |
Walter/Chris, and others, re: biasing problem. Years ago I got a pair of Cary 100w mono amps. I enjoyed the sonic match with my speakers at that time but was frustrated that the bias pots were installed inside the amp chassis. Needless to say a real pain for adjusting bias. I'm not knowledgable about electronics but could see no reason why the bias pot could not be installed on top of the chassis. So I carefully drilled a hole in a convenient place on the top and mounted the pot there. It was a simple process and made adjustments so much easier and less time consuming. Since I'm not familiar with Synthesis amps I have no idea if this could easily be done with them, but I certainly would investigate. |
I have a Synthesis Roma 27 AC and love it. It was very easy to bias with a little instruction from Luigi. Yes, it has to be done inside the amp and an outside bias adjustment would be easier. As far as lethal voltages; sure, you have to be aware and have some basic knowledge. Much like you do when driving on the freeway at lethal speeds surrounded by drivers scrolling through their social media posts.
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walter, yes, be very careful what you touch inside the amp. Remove all the tubes before turning it over and removing the bottom cover. Don't want any accident with those. Take whatever photos as necessary of original wiring to be certain all correct after relocating the pot. Depending on the layout, longer wires may be needed with the new pot position. Try to use the same gauge and colors as original. Verify from Synthesis what the bias reading should be. Even with that longevity you may want to check it a couple of times a year. Be sure amp is fully warmed up when reading (one problem with inside pot location). Good luck and enjoy. |
The 4 bias pots in my Roma 27 AC are very small pots soldered to the circuit board on either side of the chassis. To remove them safely from the circuit board the amp circuit board would have to be removed and the pots desoldered. Not sure how you would mount them so they are accessible from the outside. Additionally the 4 resistors where the bias is measured span the width of the chassis. So not easily accessible from the outside. Retrofitting external bias access is way more of a PITA than just flipping the amp over a couple times a year to check the bias at least IMO.
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@woodsage Great info and would be curious to see your system consider posting on virtual systems page.
https://www.audiogon.com/systems
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I checked out your system, very nice and a bit of a coincidence here:
Both of them developed problems shortly after receiving them. My buddy’s amp stopped working on one side and mine developed a very loud hum. With the help of Luigi at Synthesis both problems were diagnosed and remedied. My friend’s amp had a failed bridge rectifier and mine turned out to be (ironically enough) a bias problem. Through this process I became very familiar with the construction of these amplifiers. As to virtual systems, I guess I’m just too lazy. I’ve been into high end audio for forty years and a member of Audiogon for over 20 years and just never had enough interest to post my many systems over the years. Good listening.
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@woodsage Small world and coincidence indeed and thank you for the kind words. I figure when folks have Synthesis gear it's likely from Deja Vu. And glad Luigi helped you troubleshoot he souneds like a great guy from all I've heard. |
A question for the crowd. I am looking for a DAC to replace a Bricasti DAC. I had the pleasure of a home demo of the Synthesis Roma DC69 DAC, which I was told was even better than the onboard DAC in the Synthesis amps. Has anyone else heard the Synthesis DAC other than the onboard version? I would be interested in your listening experiences. |
Subscribed. My biggest concerns about Synthesis are the awkward biasing procedure, and reliability. The dealer is many kilometers away. I’m presently running conrad johnson tube pre and amp but I keep toying with the idea of an "endgame" (hah!) tube integrated that actually sounds like music- to me. Thanks you fine folks for all the good info so far. |
I have the A100 biasing information if anyone needs it (send a pm). I haven’t needed to change tubes yet so I haven’t needed to rebias, but it seems straightforward enough if you’ve a decent multimeter. Ditto on the positive comments regarding the A100. I don’t think I’ve owned a better sounding amp and I’ve owned a few in over 40 years. I would like to try their monoblocks at some point but I’m quite content with the A100. |
@waltersalas I just sent a response to your message with a link to the PDF file but it looks like Audiogon's system has zapped the link and are reviewing the message I sent. Let me know if it comes through. I don't want to post the link to the file publically as I'm not sure Luigi intended it for that. Cheers Rooze |
Glad to know the warm up hum is normal. I’m still enjoying the amp everyday. In my next residence I’m going to add the amp to drive my Franco Serblins. I’m excited for this. I have no doubt the A40 can handle the task. Currently, I’ve been listening to my Dali Epicon 2 monitors, which sound great. With the FS it will be Italian driving Italian. Match in heaven. |
walter you are so right on the Synthesis
We have been selling Synthesis for many years the A100 titan ranks among the best sounding integrated amplifiers we have used the synthesis a 100 has a surprisingly good Dac and drives most loudspeakers really well. dave and Troy Audio Intellect NJ Synthesis dealers |
I haven't use my A100 Titan in weeks since landing a Don Sachs Kootenay KT66. To be honest, the Titan is a better amp than the Kootenay but I just like switching things around. Has anyone stepped up from an A100 Titan to something they like better, if so, what? I may let my Titan go but I'm sure I'll regret it!
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The Synthesis dealer in my area only has a few customers "upgrade" from the A100 Titan. Some have gone with the Synthesis monoblocs, and a few others have gone with a seemingly strange upgrade because they move on to some pretty low-powered custom made amps. These much lower powered amps are clones of Western Electric 124 amps that utilize original Western Electric parts. The Western Electric clones are VERY special amps, but, in many respects they are quite similar to the Synthesis amps--warm tonal balance, punchy and lively sound, a sense of large scale to the music (the sound field is enveloping and big) and a sense of weight that punches into your chest even when not playing that loudly. These clone amps are, much more expensive than the A100 (the output transformers alone cost almost as much as an A100) and are not as versatile because they are meant for use with high efficiency speakers; those trading in A100 tend to also be trading in speakers for higher efficiency custom made speakers. |