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.

 

 

128x128waltersalas

Luigi is a great guy.  I got to spend the better part of the day with him and he is very engaging, interesting, and willing to help with issues that crop up.  The brand has cauth on in Asia, so they are very busy these days.

Thanks @woodsage.  If the A100 Titan is wired the same as your Synthesis gear then my suggestion was a waste of time.  Oh well, doesn't hurt to try being helpful.

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.

Have you received your new DAC yet?

I wonder how the Baltic 4.1 compares the internal Synthesis DAC?