Integrated Amp Reviews

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Integrated Amp Reviews
Wadia Digital Intuition 01 Integrated Amplifier-DAC
Daniel Kumin  |  Jan 02, 2014  | 

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $7,500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Superb sonics from high-resolution digital sources
Substantial amplifier power
Unusual looks; fine finish quality
Minus
No headphone or other additional outputs
Un-ergonomic remote controller

THE VERDICT
Reference-quality sound from hi-rez music files made simple—at a reference-grade price.

What form will the Audiophile System of the Future take? It’s an open question, though it’s a pretty fair bet that the pallet-loads of tube power amps and skyscraper speakers of the high end’s golden age will not return any time soon. One proposed answer, from Wadia Digital, is the Intuition 01 power DAC, a swoopily formed oblong that incorporates very substantial two-channel amplification (190 watts x 2 into 8 ohms, rated), highly sophisticated digital-to-analog conversion facilities, and basic input-selection and volume controls.

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Integrated Amp Reviews
WiiM Amp Review: Value-Priced Multi-Room Audio
Barb Gonzalez  |  May 29, 2024  | 

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $299

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri
Equalizer settings for each input
Can input/output Bluetooth and AirPlay
Uses passive speakers you may already own
Minus
No way to see the input or what song is playing
Could be easier to navigate with fewer clicks/taps
No headphone jack
No Bluetooth aptX for streaming hi-res audio

THE VERDICT
The reasonably priced WiiM Amp is the perfect device to leverage a house full of speakers to create a multi-room sound system. You may have Alexa, Google, or Apple HomePods. Or, passive speakers connected to other WiiM devices. This amp makes it easy to control streaming from the most popular music services anywhere in your home.

Many of us use smart speakers throughout our homes. They control everything from lights to microwaves and washing machines. Usually, these are inexpensive devices like the Amazon Echo, which are not optimal for music listening. But they are perfect for controlling more capable smart speakers and amps.

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Bluetooth Speaker ReviewsIntegrated Amp ReviewsWireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Yamaha MusicCast WXA-50 Amplifier and WX-010 Speaker Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 31, 2017  | 

MusicCast WX-010 Speaker
Performance
Build Quality
Value

MusicCast WXA-50 Amplifier
Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $500 (amp); $200 (speaker)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Streams to MusicCast devices
Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth
55 watts per channel, Class D
Minus
No headphone jack on amp
No analog input on speaker
Loaded PC may freeze app

THE VERDICT
The Yamaha WXA-50 has a clean and lively sound, a space-saving form factor, and the ability to stream to devices using the company’s MusicCast system—including the reasonable-sounding WX-010 wireless speaker.

If you are the intended audience for the Yamaha MusicCast WXA-50 amplifier, you find A/V receivers too big, black, and boxy. You are happy with two-channel sound but turned off by doghouse-sized stereo amps sitting on the floor. Soundbars may give you Bluetooth, but that isn’t enough. You’re willing to accept the architecture of a conventional home audio system—amp, speakers, sources—but on a more modest scale. And because you live in more than one room, you want a system with multiroom smarts. That’s the WXA-50 stereo integrated amp and MusicCast multiroom system in a nutshell. To make things interesting for this review, we threw in a couple of Yamaha’s latest WX-010 wireless speakers in additional zones.

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