The Hungarian lands tomorrow.

I'm this close to pulling the trigger on Qualiton A50i ... just waiting to hear your impressions of the smaller brother first.

@cejohnston -- while I cannot tell you about the Luxman, what I can tell you is that a friend of mine recently got the Qualiton A50i and previously owned the Primaluna Dialog HP as well as the Blackhawk. According to him, there's simply no competition. Qualiton is competing at a higher level with the likes of Jadis, Octave, etc. From what I understand Audio Hungary builds and test almost everything in-house.

@earflynn --

More to come best $6000.00 I have spent in a while.

That's some high praise indeed! Hopefully you'll share more info once you've had a chance to do some critical listening. But so far, looks like you're really impressed! BTW, when you were doing your research, did you look into Qualiton's A series -- A50i and A20i? What led you towards the X200? I'm wondering if the X200 is more in the sweet spot. I will definitely reach out to Constantin tomorrow. Thank you for the update. 

I talked to Costantin for almost an hour yesterday. Very nice gentleman with a passion for all things audio, especially classical music. When comparing the Qualiton A50i to XP200, he said that both are excellent amps with the same house sound. XP200 is more versatile with more power, but the A50i has more tube-like qualities when it comes to midrange (more liquid, according to him), and the highs are a bit sweeter. On the other hand, the XP200 has better control over the woofers owing to its 100 watts of power. Both have excellent holographic qualities, and unlike some other modern tube amp instances, they are not trying to mimic solid state, which is a good thing IMO.

It’s a tough call, but so far I’m leaning heavily towards A50i, although I’m sure I’ll be happy either way.

Great review! Thank you for taking the time to share your impressions with the community. Getting unbiased, no-nonsense reviews from folks with no ulterior motives or conflict of interest is really what makes this site worth its weight in gold.

Knowing how much you like Simaudio Moon products, there can be no bigger 'seal of approval' for the XP200 if you're considering selling your 600i. 

Perhaps when you have some more time, you can discuss the areas in which you think the Qualiton exceeds the 600. TIA.

Well I decided to roll the dice and ordered a Qualiton a50i in silver. Let’s hope my experience is as good as @earlflynn.