Review on 🎶 Enhanced Music Hall A15.3 Integrated Amplifier: Elevate Your Audio Experience by Tim Ram

I don't see any reviews on this amp yet so I'm writing first impressions. I did some research for a few months before purchasing the Music Hall A15.3. It was an overwhelming process due to the sheer volume of great products at this price point. My goal was to replace my aging Denon AVR-2801 because its input switching wasn't working consistently, but what I liked about the Denon was its sound quality - it sounded amazingly natural and clear, if a bit cold/clinical. So I wanted a replacement that sounds just as good but has a simpler feature set geared more towards music than home theater. I only play vinyl and CDs in stereo. I considered Yamaha A500bl, Marantz PM5004 and others in this range (HK 3490). I chose the Music Hall because it was said to have a very good built in phono stage (so I saved money on the purchase) and I liked the simplicity of the unit - no bass/treble controls, no LCD screen, no features. Buttons, just one volume control and one button for each input. And the feedback on the A15.2 was excellent, so I was hoping it would get even better. It's crazy that I bought this without reading any reviews about it (since it just came out). But I dared. I just hooked it up today and have played a few LPs, MP3s and CDs on it so far. It may have to last 50 hours or so, but I'll comment on how it sounds right out of the box. Insanely easy to set up - just connect the cables and speaker inputs and you're ready to hear the music. A side plus in the absence of features. The build quality is like a tank. The volume knob is heavy and moves slowly. The input keys are good, but nothing special. I hope there are fewer bugs since it has no features. Input Phono Stage - I A/B tested this with my previous stage, the trusted ART DJ Pre II, which I always thought sounded great. Well, the phono stage in the Music Hall showed me the opposite. The music hall sounds warm and solid, fuller. Fleetwood Mac Rhiannon and Landslide sounded very warm and weighty on the vocals. In contrast, the ART Pre sounded anemic and thin. I found that I had to increase the volume on the phono input more than the other inputs (labeled one through five on the unit). I also bought some used records today which were not in the right condition and had greatly reduced the pops and hiss to a minimum. The music was in the foreground. CDs - the inputs are simply numbered one through five, plugging my Sony CD player into the first was very crisp and clear. The bass was well defined, high-frequency fine details danced through the room. Playing my iPhone sounded perfect too (via the Pure i-20 docking station). Overall sound - I would describe it as very neutral-warm I think. At high frequencies there is no airiness and no spark. like my Denon. i like glitter I wonder if he'll do it more after he burns out. But the pronounced bass tones were much better, I guess a subwoofer isn't needed with this amp and my boston towers which aren't that powerful. My speakers have a sensitivity of 89dB and this music hall is only 50 watts per channel. I found I had to turn it up a little over halfway for it to be loud. I didn't get much further, but I didn't hear any noise or distortion. Price - I think it's quite expensive for what it does. I almost feel like deducting a star for that. I know all audiophiles will be surprised as that is supposedly an insanely low price for the components and technology used in its construction and it comes with a phono stage etc. I just know it makes me feel even better would if it cost $400. It probably sounds better than the Marantz, but I don't know if it sounds $100 better. That's where all this hi-fi stuff gets fuzzy. I think you should just buy the hardware that appeals to you - be it the design, a specific set of features, or the sonic qualities that make it stand out. The Music Hall A15.3 appeals to me because of its simple user interface and its design for listening to music on vinyl with a great sounding phono stage. Maybe it saves me money in a separate step, which makes its price not so bad after all (which was my rationale for this device). I might post more after it breaks down and I'll test again.