Norma Audio IPA-140 integrated
they have two lower priced models. https://www.audiothesis.com/norma it is quite a bit of coin but in comparison the pass labs 25 watt integrated is $7250. |
Super useful review, wish there were more like this one. But the Kinki integrated mentioned is less than 3K delivered, big $ difference, the Norma should show a huge improvement instead of in just one parameter. Hard to beat the Chinese now at the numbers game in manufacturing, an unfortunate reality for our struggling economy. |
I went and found an older review from 2013 of the Norma at 6moons where Srajan compared it to the Bakoon, Job 225 and a couple other, similar, ultra wide bandwidth gear and found the Norma to not be as incisive, detailed and clear sounding as the others. He had to go through a several speakers he had on hand before he found a good enough match. I guess it all boils down to taste and preferences. Having said that, I'm having a lot of fun having gone back to my Marantz PM15S2b integrated. I swapped out the Telos fuses for the HiFi Tuning Silverstars in it and the SACD player and it's hitting all the same notes now as the Kinki EX-M1 while retaining that Marantz house sound, which is quite a treat. It's not as incisive as the Kinki, but it has a more full bodied, natural and organic sound. There are tradeoffs, as one would expect, and I do miss a lot that the Kinki does better than the Marantz, but will continue to see if I can extract some more performance from my Marantz with the Isoacoustic Oreas that I'll be getting shortly. All the best, Nonoise |
