The Audio Analogue Maestro Integrated Amplifier hi-fi+ technical review

There can be no denying that the Italians have been making their presence felt in the audio industry recently. It started with loudspeakers Sonus Faber can, I think, lay claim to opening the floodgates, and spawned many an imitator with their hard wood cabinets and distinctive design. More recently, we have seen a considerable amount of electronics, particularly amplifiers, with some interesting and diverse approaches. From the sleek Graff OTL designs to the single ended Unison research products (complete with bolt on trees), valve technology has been particularly well represented. Meanwhile, Audio Analogue have been quietly manufacturing a range of elegant and cost effective electronics that have been gathering a good reputation for sound quality and finish in the highly competitive midprice part of the market. So it was something of a surprise, while visiting the Bristol hi fi show, to encounter the distinctly high end looking Audio Analogue Maestro in the UKD room. Much conversation and a few enquiries later suggested that the general consensus was that it appeared to be a lot of amplifier for the money, particularly if it sounded any good. Well, I soon got the opportunity to find out, as the requested review sample duly arrived.

As you have probably gathered by now, the Maestro is a large and extremely solid amplifier. It looks vaguely reminiscent of a mid nineties Krell power amp, due in no small part to the substantial heatsinking that runs down either side of the case work, lending it an air of powerful brutality. It is also extremely heavy. Unpacking it from the transport crate (definitely a two-man job) I figured that it would sit nicely on a sound organisation stand that was to hand. Half an hour later there was a resounding crack as the platform gave way and the maestro dropped half an inch to be supported only by the frame.

Apart from its sheer bulk setting it apart, the Maestro is also unusual in that it incorporates a fully fledged phono stage, thus making it an even more attractive proposition - no extra boxes and expensive interconnects to think about. The front panel is dominated by the extremely large volume control, while small push buttons control input, tape output and standby. These are augmented by LEDs to indicate the selected function, and the independent record out buss allows a degree of flexibility with recording or processors - there is an off position to isolate this when not in use. The remote is a small lacquered metal device offering basic functions of mute, volume and input selection. It is a bit awkward to use, and although the range is quite good, the acceptance angle is poor. It would also be nice to have some visual indication as to the position of the volume control, as switching sources could sometimes prove a bit hazardous with unmatched levels.

Connections on the rear panel are well laid out, and utilise high quality connectors - of the four line inputs, one is balanced, and there is a preamp output. Only one set of speaker terminals are provided, and although beautifully made, will not accept two sets of 4mm plugs, which was awkward. One thing to note, the mains connection is not the normal IEC type; instead a 16 amp socket has been used. Fortunately the supplied lead looks to be of good quality. The phono input is internally adjustable for both magnetic and moving coil cartridges, but the loading characteristics are sadly not adjustable. That's probably ok if you are just a casual user who wants to play the odd record now and again, but frustrating for those who are more serious about vinyl.

Internal construction is very neat and well laid out, with the input and pre amp circuitry situated on the back panel, while the power amplifier boards are bolted to the heatsinks on either side. Underneath these lie what looks to be a generous amount of reservoir capacitance, while two extremely large encapsulated torroidal transformers occupy the remaining space at the front, and partly account for the enormous weight of the Maestro. Each channel utilises four pairs of complementary bi-polar TO-3 output devices - these are not biased that heavily into class A, as the generous amount of heatsinking remains fairly cool to the touch under quiescent conditions.

Setting up was straightforward, and being fully integrated, it made a pleasant change to dispense with all the various different units and cables that normally clutter the end of my living room, its been a while since it has looked so tidy. I had no qualms about using it with the Primary monitors- the manufacturers claim good power delivery in to almost any load, so I was not shy about cranking it up. Sadly, this was a brand new unit, and although a quick listen revealed no obvious problems it sounded half-asleep, so I left it to stew for a few days before indulging in any serious listening.

Well, well. Maybe appearances can be deceptive. I suppose I was expecting the maestro to behave like some ball breaking megalomaniac - I mean, with nearly one and a half kilowatts of audio power available, an empty household on a Friday night and a bottle of wine ....

The Auto Analogue turned its nose up in disdain at my lack of taste. Unlike us, it was not up for a night of partying and revelry, and refused to join in. It wasn't that it sounded awful, or was sweating with the exertion; do the contrary it remained cool as the proverbial cucumber under the onslaught. What it did do was scare the hell out of me by cutting out now and again when I wound the volume up, to leave a bleak silence and a guilty expression, and despite all that I have said, we were not being that demanding.

Come the morning, I was able to be a little more rational about last nights events. Swapping the loudspeakers for a pair of Sonus Faber Electa Amator IIs produced the same result, although to a lesser extent.
A quick call to the distributor confirmed my suspicions - basically the protection circuitry was being over zealous. Further experimentation showed the problem to be almost non existent with CD's, suggesting that the amplifier was mistaking a bit of low frequency record noise for a DC fault condition. Rest assured that the manufacturer is aware of the problem and future production samples will not suffer in the same way. Listening to the Maestro in the cold light of day I was still not convinced that it was really giving its best, particularly with vinyl. From previous experience I know that the Lyra Helicon cartridge can sound a bit flat into a load impedance of 100 ohms, and substituting the Pass labs phono stage with its adjustable loading set at 1250 Ohms lightened things considerably. But it still sounded edgy and unappealing, but with enough glimpses of more to come to make me figure it was just a case of further running in. Sure enough, a few days later, it sounded like a different amp. Gone was that rather thin, two dimensional quality, and music began to acquire a far more natural and coherent character, with a decent soundstage and loads of depth.
Now that the real character of the Maestro was showing through, music became much easier to listen to. It had a character that was quite relaxed, but without being mushy or indistinct, indeed there was a wealth of detail that had a good natural presentation, especially with acoustic instruments. The rather special Naxos recording of Arnold Bax chamber music was enchanting to listen to, and the sound of the flute and harp was highly believable with a stable image that compounded the effect.

Roy and I were lucky enough to attend a concert by the St John's orchestra in Salisbury cathedral just before I was writing this review, and they played Arvo Part's - Cantus in Memorium of Benjamin Britten, a piece that I particularly like. It is always a mistake to rush home and play a recording of the same music on your hi-fi, as it is inevitably a disappointment. So of course I did exactly that, and to my surprise it sounded remarkably good. The Maestro effectively conveyed the haunting quality of the music to great effect, and I had a distinct lump in my throat as the music ended.

This was really where the forte of the Audio Analogue lay. Playing more up beat music (gravitating toward Friday nights episode) was now much more rewarding, and the bottom end performance had some real weight behind it. The available bass extension could produce awesome results with large orchestral works and organ music, giving the full impact of the performance when required. What it didn't have was the kick that some music needs to propel it along, regardless of volume - it had great definition, and blended well with the open mid-range, but it lacked the tactile quality that can have you on the edge of your seat.

The French duo St Germain have produce intriguing music made up of jazz samples and fashionable beats on the album Tourist, and the overall effect is both subtle and engaging. Somehow, the Maestro couldn't get its act together with this type of music, and the recording sounded a bit flat and uninteresting as a result.

On a more positive note, I had a Roksan turntable system in the house that I was setting up for a friend, complete with a Shiraz cartridge that favours a lower load impedance, such as the 100 Ohms offered by the Audio Analogue. The results with this were far better than with the Lyra, and suggested that if the matching is correct, the integral phono stage is no slouch, and certainly no embarrassment to the rest of the amplifier.

So, it would seem that looks can be deceptive. The Maestro is not the heavy weight muscle amp that it appears to be. Yes it has ample power reserves, but it prefers to use them to support the music where necessary rather than unashamedly showing off its strength. It is not an `impressive' amplifier that revels in high level demonstration tactics; nor does it posses the ultimate in rhythmic capabilities, the speciality of certain other amplifiers. Its strengths lie more with delicacy and natural presentation normally the domain of much lower powered designs - the difference being that it will achieve this performance at realistic levels into almost any loudspeaker. A couple of grumbles aside - in particular the lack of loading adjustment for the phono stage - the Maestro certainly is a lot of amplifier for the money. So, whilst appearances can be deceptive, they can also reveal a truth. As with all hi-fi, which truth you see is up to you.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

The Audio Analogue Maestro Integrated Amplifier
Inputs:
line - 1 balanced, 3 single ended, 1 tape
phono - MM or MC
Outputs:
1 tape, 1 pre-amp

Power: 150W into 8 Ohms; 300W into 4 Ohms; 600W into 2 Ohms; Any phase, continuous

Input impedance:
Line: 21 K Ohms
Phono MM 47K Ohms
MC 100 Ohms

Input sensitivity: Phono: MM 110mV; MC 1mv
Dimensions (W x D x H): 445 x 475 x 195
Weight: 52 Kg
Price: UK£2500

Distributor: UKD Ltd
Tel: (44)(0)1753-652669
Fax: (44)(0)1753-654531
E-mail: post@ukd.co.uk
Net. www.ukd.co.uk

Manufacturer: Audio Analogue
Net. www.audioanalogue.com

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