Premiere Design

British high-end stalwart Musical Fidelity has just released its latest 2-channel power amp, the AMS100. Like the other amps in the AMS series, this one operates purely in class-A mode, which means the entire waveform is amplified by a single set of devices (transistors in this case) rather than having one set amplify the positive swings in the waveform and another set amplify the negative swings as in class-B and class-AB designs.

As you can see in this photo, the AMS100 is immense, measuring nearly three feet long and 19 inches wide, which means it could fit into a standard equipment rack, though at 132 pounds, it would have to be quite a hefty rack. The performance specs are equally impressive—100 watts/channel into 8Ω or 200Wpc into 4Ω with a frequency response from 10Hz to 40kHz (+0, -0.4dB), THD+noise less than 0.005% (unweighted), and signal-to-noise ratio greater than 110dB (A-weighted).

Now, 100 or 200Wpc might not seem impressive, but it's more power than any of its AMS-series siblings and most other class-A amps, which are highly inefficient by nature—in fact, the AMS100 consumes up to 1200W of AC power.

This beast can accept balanced or unbalanced inputs, and it provides outputs for four speakers.

And the price? Nearly $20,000. But for those who prize class-A simplicity and sound, I have no doubt the AMS100 delivers.