AGD Productions Andante Streamer/preamplifier and The Audion mono power amplifiers

I’ve tried to rid myself of the ‘anti-switching’ bias some reviewers have toward PWM amplification, primarily because things have moved on a lot since they first appeared toward the end of the 20th Century. Nevertheless, some myths are persistent, especially when they come with a kernel of truth to them. One of my last negatives toward PWM-powered designs was the ‘they don’t drive difficult loads’ and that evaporated in listening to the AGD with the deceptively difficult upper bass impedance of the Wilson Duette Series 2 loudspeaker. The amps aced this low impedance point even at relatively ‘beefy’ levels and playing some balls-out AC/DC. OK, so some 1980s era brick wall masquerading as a loudspeaker with an impedance plot that burns out most amps will probably see the AGD hitting its end stops, but in truth, that ability is a bit of a revelation.

For a comparatively little-known company, AGD is hitting them out of the park here. The Andante is a fine preamplifier with a ‘first, do no harm’ streamer on board, and The Audions are some of the fastest, most expressive amps you’ll hear this side of the audio’s super league. This is an important new design and well worth checking out!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Andante streaming preamplifier

• Analogue Inputs: 2 Single ended (RCA2, RCA3), 1 XLR inputs (XLR)
• Phono input: Moving Magnet and Moving Coil selectable via Menu
  MM Input Impedance: 47kΩ, S/N ≤ -80db; MC Input Impedance: 420Ω, S/N ≤-70db; RIAA Accuracy: < 0.5dB
• Digital Inputs: 1 USB, 1 × AES/EBU (XLR), 1 Coax, 1 × TOSLINK (max sample rate 192 kHz) LAN (Ethernet Port), Bluetooth AptX
• Analogue outputs: 1 XLR, 2 RCA
• File formats supported: MP3, WMA, MPEG-4 AAC, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, DSD
• Digital precision: PCM to 768kHz, 32-bit. DSD to 22.5792MHz and 24.576MHz (DSD512); Streaming Services: DNLA, UPnP, ROON, AirPlay (via LAN)
• Frequency Response: 1Hz–100kHz ± 0.2db
• THD+N (Balanced): ≤ 0.005% THD+N (Single Ended): ≤ 0.009% S/R: ≥110db
• Dimensions (W×H×D): 28 × 9 × 280cm
• Weight: 13kg
• Price: From £11,695

The Audion power amp

• Nominal Output Power at 0.1%: 85W (8Ω), 170W (4Ω)
• THD+N 10W/1KHz: < 0.005%
• Frequency Response: 5Hz–100kHz (±3dB)
  Dynamic Range: >120dB
• Dimensions (W×H×D): 19 × 14 × 19cm
• Weight: 3.1kg
• Price: From £7,895 per pair

Manufacturer: AGD

URL: agdproduction.com

UK distributor: Whole Note Distribution

URL: wholenotedistribution.co.uk

Tel: +44(0)203 9115 549

Sole UK retailer: Val Hifi

URL: valhifi.co.uk

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