Good SET amplifiers typically do the “hall” better than solid state amplifiers and this is one of the big reasons SET lovers love SETs. There is a natural ease about the music reproduction that sounds more whole. It’s that mystical magic fairy dust or, to some, distortion that imparts a sense of fatigue-free listening and higher musical involvement and emotion button pushing. Whatever it is, the LM 219IA has that Single Ended, Cass A, recipe that is highly desirable.
What the 219IA adds to the mix is a wider frequency bandwidth and a larger dynamic envelope than 300B amps I’ve heard. When you wish to go louder or play more dynamic material of any sort this amp seems to have endless reserves. Of Course there is a limit but while people typically run the ATC SCM 100 with 200 watt+ amps per channel, the LM 219IA could play bass at high levels comfortably and invites the question as to why more watts would be required. Perhaps it’s more about the quality of the power supply.
Suffice it to say the amplifier drove non tube friendly and very tube friendly speakers equally well. Indeed, the finesse of the 300B with the power and drive of the 845 make for a rather unbeatable combination. Quite simply, this is a phenomenal sounding amplifier, that has rugged power combined with haunting goose-bump factor delicacy and finesse in spades. It’s built like a Mack Truck (it’s almost as big and heavy), and it looks like something from Young Frankenstein’s lab – in the best possible way. Three months later and it continues to seduce me and seems to be getting better and better.
The 219IA’s price to performance ratio is about as good as it gets in audio in my experience. It’s certainly the best sound I’ve heard from China thus far.
Reviewers often say that amp is better than amps at three times the price. I try to avoid such comments because specific products are rarely listed. Good $1k products can beat bad 3k products. What I can say is that this amp could easily be priced three or maybe four times higher and would not seem out of place in terms of sound or build quality. And that’s largely why I bought one.
“I wholeheartedly recommend this amplifier”
The conclusion above is made by reviewer Richard Austen – Dagogo.com
In our warehouse we have a “brand new” Line Magnetic LM 219IA integrated amplifier! If you are interested in this great amplifier? Let us know! Contact Durob Audio HERE.