You can't go wrong with Line Magnetic.
For the past 7 years I lived near their factory and made some friendships with people related to Line Magnetic, Cayin and other Chinese brands (designers, technicians and dealers). And I must say that they take their products very seriously. Quality - both materials and sonics - is outstanding and long gone are the days when Chinese production was synonymous of crap. Of course there are still many shitty Chinese products, but not at this level.
And these two factories alone (LM and Cayin) are assembling fine pretty pieces of gear for many ultra-expensive brands.
Along my journey I auditioned almost every product from LM and Cayin (and also Opera Consonance, MingDa, Yaqin and others) and have owned a few Chinese equipments, the most interesting and famous being the huge LM219ia. And although the qualities and attributes of sound are very subjective, one thing for sure is objective: the built quality.
So if you enjoy the sound and style of Line Magnetic gear, just go for it with confidence.
I think this new model - LM34ia - is replacing the 211. That was a fine entry level amplifier. But my favorites are the big brothers, 518, 508 and 219. I experienced these amplifiers with speakers from Zu Audio, Omega, Dali, Tannoy and ATC, all combos sounding great - preferring the high efficiency speakers though.
Just pick a model that fits your budget and taste and you will be satisfied.
For the past 7 years I lived near their factory and made some friendships with people related to Line Magnetic, Cayin and other Chinese brands (designers, technicians and dealers). And I must say that they take their products very seriously. Quality - both materials and sonics - is outstanding and long gone are the days when Chinese production was synonymous of crap. Of course there are still many shitty Chinese products, but not at this level.
And these two factories alone (LM and Cayin) are assembling fine pretty pieces of gear for many ultra-expensive brands.
Along my journey I auditioned almost every product from LM and Cayin (and also Opera Consonance, MingDa, Yaqin and others) and have owned a few Chinese equipments, the most interesting and famous being the huge LM219ia. And although the qualities and attributes of sound are very subjective, one thing for sure is objective: the built quality.
So if you enjoy the sound and style of Line Magnetic gear, just go for it with confidence.
I think this new model - LM34ia - is replacing the 211. That was a fine entry level amplifier. But my favorites are the big brothers, 518, 508 and 219. I experienced these amplifiers with speakers from Zu Audio, Omega, Dali, Tannoy and ATC, all combos sounding great - preferring the high efficiency speakers though.
Just pick a model that fits your budget and taste and you will be satisfied.